Julien Dupont shares insights into the school's commitment to innovation, while Dr. Christophe Garonne leads key seminars for students. International MBA students benefit from the ‘Fostering Entrepreneurship and Innovation’ seminar, while Executive MBA students can attend ‘Strategic Innovation for a Better Future,’ equipping them with essential entrepreneurial skills.
Insightful article by Aarti Kukreja, writer and content creator.
KEDGE Business School: Empowering entrepreneurs for success
Discover how KEDGE Business School empowers MBA students and alumni through its Entrepreneurship Center, tailored MBA programmes, and startup support for budding entrepreneurs and innovators.
KEDGE Business School is a top business school located in France with campuses in Paris, Bordeaux, and Marseille. It also has several associated campuses abroad in Senegal, China, and Ivory Coast. At KEDGE Business School, innovation meets opportunity in its MBA programmes (Executive MBA & International MBA) that nurture entrepreneurial talent. The KEDGE MBA programmes offer aspiring business leaders the tools and support to launch successful business ideas.
A Seminar dedicated to fostering innovation
Julien Dupont, Head of Incubators & New Business at KEDGE, is in charge of the entrepreneurship programmes at the school. He shares insights into the entrepreneurial ecosystem at KEDGE and highlights the school’s commitment to innovation. He explains, “We support 300 startup projects each year in France, and also MBA students.”
“All MBA students can access a seminar called ‘Fostering Entrepreneurship and Innovation’,” Julien notes.
Dr. Christophe Garonne teaches the seminar, which aims to equip students with strategic insights and practical skills to support entrepreneurs. Students engage in workshops, case studies, and collaborative projects with real entrepreneurs during this seminar. Julien adds, “If they want, they can launch their own projects in and after this seminar.”
The seminar also provides a platform for students to connect with industry leaders and seasoned entrepreneurs, fostering a network that extends beyond the classroom. These interactions equip students with confidence and knowledge to navigate the entrepreneurial ecosystem effectively. If students wish to continue their projects, they can join the incubation program at KEDGE Business School to work with coaches and learn more about key topics such as acquisition, strategy, and fundraising.
Tailored startup incubation programmes
KEDGE Business School offers three startup programmes, to support students at every stage of their entrepreneurial journey. These programmes include:
Pre-Incubation Programme (Business Creator): This is designed for students with an idea but no product. “We will support them with challenges. What is the challenge? For example, we will ask them to meet the end customer and to interview them. The aim of this interview is to understand if they have a clear need or not, and if they are able to build a product that people want,” Julien says.
Incubation Programme (Business Nursery): This is designed for students who have a first product or prototype, helping entrepreneurs to meet their first clients and customers. Julien elaborates, “We will help them to acquire the first customers. They will have the dedicated support of a coach in every kind of topic so they can work on acquisition, fundraising, pitches, or HR.”
The KEDGE Business Nursery offers services committed to guiding startups created by KEDGE students or graduates through their development stages.
Acceleration Programme (Business Accelerator): The accelerator programme is designed for those who have an established company and who are already generating turnover. This programme aims to help businesses with scaling and fundraising. Julien emphasizes the hands-on guidance offered to participants. This includes strategic advice on market expansion, building robust operations, and securing essential funding.
These programmes include personalised coaching from seasoned entrepreneurs, ensuring practical and actionable guidance. The structured approach and access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources enable students to refine their ideas and bring them to market.
Financial support for budding entrepreneurs
Julien also highlights that KEDGE Business School offers financial programmes to KEDGE MBA students and entrepreneurs. A major standout feature of KEDGE’s entrepreneurship programmes is financial backing. “We can lend up to €40,000 with zero interest, so it’s quite interesting when you need to launch a company” Julien notes.
KEDGE Business School’s alumni network also boasts 120 KEDGE business angels who have directly invested €400,000 in student startups over the past two years. The school also operates an investment firm called ‘KEDGE Participation,’ a venture capital fund to support student-founded startups. This further solidifies the school’s commitment to student and graduate entrepreneurial success.
This combination of angel investments and direct institutional support ensures students have a strong financial framework to grow their businesses and pursue their ventures.
Real-world learning and industry connections
KEDGE integrates experiential, hands-on learning into its MBA curriculum. The KEDGE International MBA programme is designed for young executives with a minimum of three years of professional experience. The Executive MBA programme is designed for more senior executives with an average of 14 years of professional experience. Some of them are considering retraining and starting their own business. Both programmes aim to help students further develop themselves as confident professionals and business-savvy entrepreneurs.
KEDGE frequently hosts industry events, hackathons, and immersive seminars on various topics, such as AI, innovation, sustainability, and customer relations. Students gain valuable insights into emerging trends and technologies by participating in these workshops, preparing them to address complex industry demands.
Students also have the opportunity to join learning expeditions in Paris’s dynamic startup ecosystem. “We often visit Station F, which is one of the world’s largest incubators in the world and it allows them to meet some investors and some entrepreneurs, and to understand how the start-up ecosystem works… and to build their career plan for the future,” Julien shares.
This hands-on, experiential approach aims to bridge the gap between theory and skills, and academia and the professional world. This ensures graduates leave the program fully job-ready.
Inspiring success stories
KEDGE has supported numerous successful ventures, showcasing the school’s commitment to fostering innovation and sustainability. Some examples include:
- GEEV: “A very well-known app in France, a web app, enabling users to donate household items, with a strong community in France of over three million daily users.”
- Telaqua: “An AgriTech company based in Marseille. They created smart sensors to detect water loss on large-scale farms. It is a very important topic to detect water loss when you work in agriculture… they work also in Southwest Africa and in South America.”
- RideSpace: “Work with satellite launchers to compare prices to launch satellites with a platform… Thanks to RideSpace, a unique platform, you can have access to the prices and to choose a good launcher to launch a satellite.”
These success stories exemplify KEDGE’s commitment to nurturing innovative solutions that address real-world challenges. The diverse range of industries represented showcases the breadth of opportunities for KEDGE students.
Lifelong career support
KEDGE’s commitment to its students doesn’t end with graduation. The school’s alumni network provides lifelong career support, including mentorship and access to exclusive professional opportunities. Students and alumni can leverage this network to gain insights and establish connections in their chosen industries.
Moreover, KEDGE offers continuous professional development courses, tools, and resources, ensuring alumni stay updated with the latest industry trends in the ever-evolving business landscape. These offerings solidify KEDGE as a lifelong partner in its students’ professional journeys.
Why KEDGE is the ultimate destination for aspiring entrepreneurs
KEDGE Business School’s MBA programmes and Entrepreneurship Centre provide unparalleled support for entrepreneurs, blending academic rigor with practical tools. From tailored incubation programmes to financial backing and industry exposure, KEDGE equips students to innovate and succeed in the real world.
Ready to embark on your entrepreneurial journey? Learn more about KEDGE Business School and its available programmes, such as the International MBA, and the Global Executive MBA.
