Nanyang MBA

How This Nanyang MBA SPAN Team Created a Sustainability Plan with Strategic Thinking

In business, you either sink or swim on the strength of your agility, adaptability, and strategic thinking. To prepare for this, participants of the Nanyang MBA programme at Nanyang Business School (NBS) go through a rigorous project known as Strategic Projects at Nanyang, or SPAN.

The SPAN project challenges Nanyang MBA participants to solve pressing issues in industries often unfamiliar to them, testing their ability to apply classroom knowledge to real-world business challenges.

One Nanyang MBA team embarked on this journey with Climate Smart Ventures (CSV), an advisory firm dedicated to advancing the energy transition in Asia. Teamwork, mentorship, and applying their MBA learnings successfully saw them through – but the path was filled with challenges.

A challenge of both scope and scale

CSV is deeply involved in sustainability projects across Asia, aiming to accelerate the transition from coal to clean energy in a managed and strategic manner.

As part of their efforts to identify new growth and investment opportunities in the “transition finance” or sustainable finance space, CSV sponsored a SPAN team to help execute a go-to-market strategy in the transition finance or sustainable finance space.

CSV asked the team’s participants – Ega Varian Soemarliu, Carolyn Cheong Chee Lee, Meta Yunita Pramasetio, Patel Shivam, and Totokawa Masato – to create a plan with clear KPIs, recommendations for new products and services, and an investment roadmap to support the proposed initiatives.

The challenge was immense due to the interdisciplinary nature of CSV’s goals and the magnitude of change required to implement any solution. The team had to integrate knowledge from domains like finance, energy, regulations, and sustainability.

Putting the team together

Goh Kia Hong, SPAN academic director, emphasised the importance of this capstone project for Nanyang MBA participants. “This hands-on experience allows participants to test their skills in a dynamic business environment,” he said. “Additionally, the programme’s focus on diversity within teams exposes participants to different perspectives.”

True to the SPAN programme’s emphasis on diversity, the Nanyang MBA team reflected its members’ variety of educational and professional backgrounds. “This enabled us to understand and learn things from each other’s perspective, knowledge, and experience,” Ega explained.

Each team member played a crucial role in the project:

• Carolyn Cheong Chee Lee served as the team’s primary liaison with CSV, ensuring smooth communication and alignment with the client’s expectations.
• Meta Yunita Pramasetio was instrumental in designing, editing, and formatting presentation decks, making complex information accessible and engaging.
• Patel Shivam was the go-to person for crunching numbers and generating insightful data analyses that informed strategic decisions – an ideal role given his background in data analytics.
• Totokawa Masato was the team’s “finance guy,” taking the lead in interpreting financial reports and drawing conclusions that guided the team’s recommendations.

Ega himself brought valuable insights from Indonesia’s pulp and paper sector. “I shared my experience in the manufacturing industry: why it relies on dirty energy sources to generate power, and the effort needed to shift to greener energy sources,” he said.

A cohesive team spirit drove the Nanyang MBA team from the start. “We have often worked together as a team – we understand each other’s personalities, strengths, and weaknesses,” Ega noted.

The team prioritised face-to-face meetings and often shared meals after discussions. When disagreements arose, they employed a democratic approach. “We listened to every opinion without judgement or interruption, then discussed pros and cons in detail,” Ega recalled. “If we couldn’t agree on things, we voted. Once a decision was made, everyone collaborated to make things happen.”

SPAN mentors: guidance and experience

While Ega had direct experience in the energy and sustainability sector, most of his teammates did not – a factor that surprisingly worked to their advantage.

“The clients are focusing on their business every day; they may not be able to look beyond their problem,” explained Mr. Goh. “Since the SPAN group approaches the company’s operations without preconceived notions, they can critically assess opportunities with an open mind.”

To help maximise their project’s impact, the team welcomed the mentorship of Professor Sharon Ng, a marketing expert and Deputy Dean at NBS.

“SPAN mentors offer insights from their own experience and provide practical examples and advice on navigating challenges,” explained Mr. Goh. “Mentors also offer a sounding board for ideas, ensuring that participants make meaningful progress.”

Ega praised Prof. Ng’s guidance, which proved particularly crucial at pivotal moments. “She reminded us about the importance of managing client’s expectations,” he recalled. “Before our final presentation, she said we need to be prepared if judges ask questions about our early proposals that clients repudiated.”

This foresight proved invaluable when the judges did indeed question the team’s earlier focus on Thailand, prompting them to defend their eventual pivot to Malaysia.

Recommending a solution

The team took a systematic and strategic approach to the problem. “We analysed potential countries and sectors as well as the client’s internal capabilities,” Ega explained. “We then recommended a country and a sector that presented a big opportunity for CSV.”

Initially, the team recommended focusing on Thailand’s transportation sector. However, after extensive discussions with CSV, they shifted their focus to Malaysia’s power generation sector.

CSV’s managing director consulted directly with the team through regular bi-weekly meetings. A dedicated WhatsApp group facilitated constant communication and swift decision-making. Carolyn was crucial in maintaining this communication flow, ensuring the team and client were aligned.

“We provided them with three go-to-market strategy proposals, based on CSV’s value proposition as a pure-play sustainability advisor offering end-to-end bundled solutions,” Ega said.

The team even went the extra mile, by developing “Partnership Prototypes” that helped CSV identify high-impact opportunities and game out actionable strategies and frameworks to pursue them.

“The SPAN collaboration [helped] us validate and deepen our own business case and entry strategy… into a completely new market,” the client later wrote in their assessment of the team’s performance. “It allowed us to identify low-hanging fruits for immediate engagement – allowing us to optimise our potential investment into this new market.”

Post-SPAN Reflections

For team member Meta Yunita Pramasetio, the SPAN project was a transformative experience. “SPAN was a steep learning curve for me,” she reflected. “Although I was initially unfamiliar with the client”s industry and project, this experience accelerated my learning and adaptability within a short timeframe.”

Ega pondered the broader implications of their SPAN experience. “How can consultants with limited knowledge and expertise develop solutions to clients’ complex problems?” he mused. He found the answer in critical thinking – asking the right questions, challenging assumptions, and identifying biases – and the ability to adapt to new circumstances with an open mind and a growth mindset.

Mr. Goh wasn’t surprised by the team’s success. “In every module, they learn a lot of case studies in a classroom setting. But in SPAN, they get to put their knowledge into good use, and all the soft skills come into play – negotiation, addressing objections, conflict resolution, and project management,” he said.

“SPAN is where they really get their hands dirty, where the rubber meets the road.”

For Nanyang MBA participants, the SPAN capstone project offers a pivotal chance to apply the curriculum’s business thinking and insights to ongoing business challenges – the ideal beginning to a lifelong career driving change in their respective industries.

Ready to learn more about Nanyang’s MBA programme and SPAN? Find out more here.

The Nanyang MBA is a flexible 12-month or 18-month programme designed to fuel your growth into a future-ready leader equipped with the skills needed to excel in a global, digital environment. The programme aims to develop impactful, culturally adept leaders who embrace the connection between business, technology, and innovation to excel in global environments and adapt to each new wave of digital change.