Congratulations to Gabriela Galera, Luana Nogueira, Carolina Pascotto, and Danielle van Drunen, the MBA students who secured second place in the prestigious Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge with their project, Caatinga Bank. This impact investment project aims to bolster small farms in Brazil's Caatinga Biome with working capital loans, technical assistance, and stable futures contracts.
The competition brought together 12 groups from global business schools to address social and sustainability issues through innovative financial products. Well done to all winners and participants!

Poets & Quants has published its annual ‘The Best & Brightest MBAs: Class of 2024.’ Nura Smadi (IESE MBA’24) earned a coveted spot on the list for her dedication to sustainability and positive change. During her MBA, she led the Responsible Business Club and organized the Doing Good Doing Well conference. A strategic thinker anchored in compassion and adaptability, her multicultural upbringing shaped her global outlook and passion for diversity. Post-graduation, she aims to merge sustainability, international development, and strategic partnership management. Read the full interview and discover more about Nura's inspiring journey and accomplishments.

On May 15th, IESE hosted the latest WeStart gathering. On this occasion the meeting focused on ‘Opportunities via Open Innovation and European Projects’. The event explored how open innovation fosters collaboration beyond borders and encourages organizations to collaborate externally for new ideas and resources, driving growth and innovation. WeStart, an integral part of IESE’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, is a community of early-stage entrepreneurs and mentors dedicated to supporting initiatives and people who believe in having a positive impact on business and society. It is aimed at startups that have validated commercial products with customers or have early commercialization of up to €500,000.

Starting on May 24th, IESE's Summer Entrepreneurship Experience offers MBA students hands-on learning to transform ideas into businesses. Supported by IESE's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center, this initiative guides aspiring entrepreneurs in validating and developing new busines models. In this immersive experience, students will step out of the classroom to engage directly with customers, partners, and suppliers, experiencing the real-world challenges of starting a company. Working in teams, they will use a business model canvas and agile development to refine their products based on real-world feedback.

Join us on June 11th, from 17:00 to 19:45 at IESE’s South Campus in Barcelona, to explore how digital innovation can transform your business.
At the Forum, you'll discover how to create and expand an open innovation strategy for your company, collaborate with deep-tech entrepreneurs, and leverage cutting-edge technologies to boost your business. Speakers include IESE professors Mª Julia Prats and Yuliya Snihur, IESE's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center Executive Director Josemaria Siota, and innovation experts from top corporations. Sign up today!

Does your company face an interesting and important business model challenge? And would you like to see it tackled by a highly motivated MBA student team following a clear methodology? Then this might just be for you. Led by Professor Christoph Zott, our IESE Business Model Challenge returns this September. Join us as MBA teams analyze and develop innovative proposals for existing firms' business models. Are you ready for this exciting opportunity? Explore more details here.  

Research has shown that individual purpose leads to positive outcomes, but little is known about collective purpose, where a group shares a long-term intention to contribute beyond themselves. This research article co-authored by Professor Heinrich Liechtenstein focuses on family purpose, a specific form of collective purpose. Key factors supporting these purposes include shared virtues, cohesive structures, purpose champions, religious beliefs, humble leaders, and strong family identities. Learn more about the power of collective purpose and its potential to transform families and communities.

Despite some business leaders' frustration with the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), new research suggests it’s linked to lower emissions. An online poll by the European Commission revealed that 66% of respondents felt SFDR disclosures created more confusion than clarity, raising greenwashing risks. However, research by IESE professors Gaizka Ormazabal, Fernando Peñalva, and Robert Raney, alongside Jiyuan Dai of the University of Cyprus, found a 6.6% greater decline in carbon emissions in SFDR-bound funds compared to others. This reduction results from investments shifting to greener companies and firms cutting emissions under investor pressure. Learn more in this IESE Insight article and access the working paper here.