Tabacha Luwabelwa

Tabacha Luwabelwa is from Lusaka, Zambia, and is studying for a BA in International Business at Leeds Beckett University. He joined VAC in June 2026 and completed an internship with an international business-valuation and advisory firm, where he gained practical exposure to valuations, market research, sales processes and business development.

My time in Cape Town was one of the most rewarding and memorable parts of my university journey. Coming from Zambia and studying in the UK, doing my internship in South Africa gave me the opportunity to experience a different professional and cultural environment while still being somewhere that felt familiar in certain ways.

During my internship, I gained valuable exposure to the business world, particularly business valuations. I was able to apply concepts from my International Business degree in a real working environment while learning more about how companies operate and grow.

My work included market and competitor research, researching potential markets and events, contributing to business-development activities and mapping out the company’s sales process. I particularly enjoyed the sales-process mapping because it helped me understand how the different stages of the business fit together and how the process would look to someone seeing it for the first time.

The experience also gave me insight into how companies approach business development and international expansion. Beyond the technical side, I learned a lot about adapting to a different professional culture, communicating with people from different backgrounds and becoming more comfortable working outside my usual environment.

Cape Town gave me much more than professional experience. Through VAC, I met people from different countries and backgrounds, made new friendships and experienced parts of the city that I probably would not have discovered on my own. I went hiking, tried activities including jet skiing, ATV riding and abseiling, and became much more confident living independently in another country.

Looking back, the biggest value of my time in Cape Town was the combination of professional development and personal growth. I am leaving with new skills, new connections and a much broader perspective on international business and the kind of professional environment I want to build my career in.