LONDON: Growing numbers of successful businesspeople are taking MBA courses so they can start their own companies. High-fliers who are worried about lack of promotion prospects - or the prospect of redundancy - are looking to seize control of their own destiny by going it alone. Figures from the QS World MBA Tour, which runs a worldwide tour of fairs for prospective MBA students, show a 10 percent leap in aspiring entrepreneurs - those who take the course so they can become self-employed. Nearly a third more students are specializing in entrepreneurship - up from 34 percent to 42 percent. And more prospective MBA students are seen before they expect to be running their own businesses in 10 years - up to 27 percent - according to the QS TopMBA Applicant Survey, which questioned nearly 4,000 MBA applicants from around the world. The huge success of online startups that have grown to become global phenomena such as Facebook and Twitter have given MBAs the confidence to start their own business upon graduation or join smaller entrepreneurial organizations. Some schools are reporting that 10 percent or more have chosen to do so. Colleen Clark, human resources vice-president at US outdoor clothing firm Eastern Mountain Sports spelled out the benefits of MBAs to entrepreneurs - including the ability to make young firms profitable more quickly. She said: "MBAs bring business acumen, creative thinking and new knowledge - technology, people, branding and product development - to a business. They cut down on lag time between start up and return on investment." Zoya Zaitseva, senior operations manager of the QS World MBA Tour, said: "These figures show more and more students are looking to make themselves recession-proof - by putting their fate in their own hands rather than hoping for opportunities to arise within their present companies." "This is also reflected in significantly more students specializing in entrepreneurship as they seek to build up the leadership and organizational skills that will enable them to set up their own business." The QS World MBA Tour will arrive in Riyadh and Manama Dec. 13 and 15, respectively. The event gives prospective MBA candidates a great chance to meet face to face with the world's leading business schools. Candidates can register for free entry at www.topmba.com/mba
