The 'startups' formed at IESE create 102,000 jobs and raise 13.5 billion

Companies founded by the IESE Business School community have created 102,800 jobs and raised almost 13.5 billion euros in capital. This is according to the latest impact report from the IESE Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center, which states that 30% of students at the private business school start a company within five years of graduation. In this regard, 1,400 students are supported each year by the center's entrepreneurial ecosystem, with campuses in Barcelona, Madrid, Munich, New York, and São Paulo.

"Entrepreneurship is part of our school's mission. Our goal is to train leaders who aspire to have a deep, positive, and lasting impact on people, companies, and society through their professional excellence," says IESE's General Director, Franz Heukamp. "Successful entrepreneurs, those with a true sense of purpose, provide a great service to society," Heukamp adds.

Furthermore, Professor Gaizka Ormazabal points out that "entrepreneurship is one of the intellectual leadership currents that the school develops not only in academic journals but also in media." The report highlights 20 publications per year dedicated to entrepreneurship and innovation, including academic articles, books, studies, and cases in prestigious journals. An example of this is IESE's selection by the European Commission and governments in Asia and Latin America to participate in 27 competitive research projects.

A commitment to entrepreneurship with a long tradition that made IESE the first European business school to teach it in its MBA program in the 1974/1975 academic year. Since then, the school's entrepreneurship and innovation activity has grown, extending beyond teaching plans and being present in different programs and activities. According to the report, almost thirty professors lead entrepreneurship teaching and activities; 16 different subjects on the matter are taught, and nearly a hundred events on entrepreneurship are held, an activity that has quadrupled in the last six years.

"The entrepreneurial spirit needs more than academic knowledge to flourish," says Josemaria Siota, executive director of IESE's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center. "That's why the school has developed an ecosystem to support our current students, alumni, professors, and society in general to build solutions towards a better tomorrow," Siota emphasizes. This includes the mentoring initiatives WeStart and WeGrow, Technology Transfer Group, International Search Funds Institute, Open Innovation Institute, and Business Angels Network.