Millions of business students around the world lack access to the tools that shape future leaders. Paul Beamish is working to change that.

Launched in 2010, the 39 Country Initiative provides – free of charge – educational materials from the Ivey Business School at Western University to universities in the world’s poorest countries.  

The primary resource materials are business cases that bring real-world situations to life. One example is the recent Ivey case Northern Horizons Forestry: Tariff Shock, which examines how an Indigenous-owned company navigated rising U.S. tariffs and an increasingly hostile trade market.  

Paul, an Ivey professor of international business since 1987, says studying these cases provides students with a vital edge as they prepare for careers in business.  

“It's a methodology that allows students to get actively involved in learning how to make decisions, argue their position and negotiate. They develop critical thinking skills that go beyond what they can pick up from lectures, which are great for conveying facts, but not as good for teaching how to manage.”

With more than 10,000 business cases and learning materials, Ivey Publishing maintains one of the largest collections of its kind in the world. While access is supported through a range of pricing models, each case costs between $4.50 and $5 per student. That may be acceptable to universities in the western world, but the fee is out of reach for schools in many developing nations.

As part of its commitment to championing the case method around the world, Ivey offers no-cost access to materials for participating institutions in emerging economies through the 39 Country Initiative.

Instructors can simply register online with Ivey Publishing and access current cases, teaching notes and supporting materials as soon as they're published.

"They have access to the material at the same time the rest of the world has access to it."

Paul says without good business cases, professors and students in these countries are at a distinct disadvantage.  

“If you visit a country like Burundi or Tajikistan, you see how poverty impacts education. The teaching material they're using is often old, with outdated examples. And without the case method, students aren’t learning how to make decisions.”

Paul is quick to point out the 39 Country Initiative is “not a one-person operation.” Beyond providing business cases, professors from Ivey and a global network of universities travel to participating countries to help faculty learn how to teach using the case method. In 2025, the initiative taught 1,200 professors.

The response has been, without a doubt, positive.

Dr. Ratakane B. Maime of the National University of Lesotho says the method helps students build problem-solving and entrepreneurial skills. At Kathmandu University in Nepal, Roshee Lamichhane, assistant professor and coordinator of the Enterprise and Management Development Center, says the session “inspired us to incorporate more case studies and even begin writing our own.”

For Paul, hearing feedback like this proves the impact of the 39 Country Initiative.  

“There is no safety net when managing a business. Developing management skills is directly relevant to a student’s daily life and their future, and proper training helps them do things more effectively.”  

Paul is pleased with the progress but emphasizes there’s more to do. While it’s still called the 39 Country Initiative, the program now supports 47 countries, representing 2,500 universities where 10,000 local professors teach business. The potential impact is enormous.

“Our goal is to level the playing field in terms of management education worldwide. If we have the resources, why would we hold them back? We need to help those who haven't caught a break like we have in a prosperous country like Canada.”