EDHEC’s Global MBA: Where Sustainability Meets Entrepreneurship

SUSTAINABILITY + ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Both entrepreneurship and sustainability are pillars of the EDHEC MBA, and they are embedded into nearly every class.

In November, EDHEC’s Global MBA topped Poets&Quants ranking of the world’s best MBA programs for entrepreneurship – the first time the school has participated in the ranking.

Founded in 1906 by four entrepreneurs to train a new generation of managers, entrepreneurship is baked into the school’s DNA, says Sandra Richez, EDHEC Global MBA program director. Today, between 8 and 10% of EDHEC MBAs go on to start a business each year.

EDHEC created one of the first specialized entrepreneurship tracks for MBA programs, allowing students to focus on their own ventures throughout the MBA. They get the chance to pitch their ideas in front of real business angels at TechForward at the end of the program. The best startups are invited to apply for either the TechForward Incubator in the Sophia Antipolis technology hub in Nice or the Station F Incubator program in Paris. With 110 work stations, EDHEC is Station F’s second largest partner program.

Last year, Entrepreneurship was the most popular of the four MBA tracks with 27% of the class enrolled – 13% of those started their own businesses while another 10% joined startups after graduation. Those who don’t work at startups apply entrepreneurial lessons throughout their careers.

“Corporate jobs are seeking entrepreneurial skills like innovation, ideation, agile leadership, business intelligence, and AI – all of which can be developed quickly in the startup world,” Richez says.

This entrepreneurship ecosystem builds upon the school’s all-in commitment to sustainability. This June, EDHEC released Generations 2050, its strategic plan through 2028, doubling down sustainability and impact while emphasizing net positive business models – those that improve the communities they serve. Dean Emmanuel Métais wants EDHEC grads to lead on climate solutions and impact, pledging €270 million toward sustainable entrepreneurship, green finance, the creation of EDHEC AI, and more.

In 2023, EDHEC Entrepreneurs developed and released its open and free Responsible Entrepreneurship by Design (RED) methodology, embedding ethical considerations from the start within startups and new ventures. More than 1,000 startups across Europe have downloaded the methodology.

EDHEC has long been a sustainability leader. It was the first MBA program to integrate a sustainability learning expedition into the curriculum 15 years ago and fully embedded sustainability into the curriculum six years ago. Today, EDHEC’s Global MBA has been ranked 4th worldwide for ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and Net Zero teaching by the Financial Times for four consecutive years.

“Sustainability has become a defining feature of our MBA, and I think it aligns with this generation’s belief that sustainability is essential to business,” Richez says.

Each and every EDHEC MBA completes a five-month Sustainable Impact Challenge, working with real companies to solve real sustainability problems. It is the signature project of the program, and unique to EDHEC.

The challenge was created at a time when many programs were sending students on humanitarian projects – building schools in impoverished countries or partnering with a nonprofit – but weren’t doing much on the business case for sustainability.

“We realized that if we waited for the (UN’s Sustainable Development Goals) or NGOs to address these issues, progress would be too slow,” Richez says.

“What is business good at? Business is good at acting on things, making things happen. If we want future managers to make things happen, we need to give them the opportunity to practice this while they’re still students.

“And we thought about the ripple effect. If each of our students goes into a company and runs a sustainability project, then we’re multiplying our impact by 60 or 70 people every year. That became very exciting and gave us the energy to make some big changes in the program.”

A COHORT 94% INTERNATIONAL, 57% FEMALE

When Stephanie Brooks, EDHEC GMBA ‘24, started looking for an MBA program, she’d worked in Silicon Valley’s recruitment sector for 15 years. But, she simply wasn’t interested in U.S. schools.

There are excellent options, sure. Especially around her neighborhood where Stanford GSB, Wharton, and UC Berkeley Haas are all heavy hitters. But, most U.S. programs pull full-time students out of the workforce for two full years. They are expensive. And, they’re not global.

“Especially in my field, I didn’t necessarily need the extra education to advance. The MBA, for me, was not only the education, but also the experience. I wanted a program that was international, with a bit of an older age demographic,” Brooks tells Poets&Quants.

“I loved that EDHEC’s program was less than a year, and it was in the south of France. I knew that I’d be surrounded by an incredible diversity of people. My class came from something like 30 different countries. That was a major selling point for me, and I didn’t find anything like that in the United States.”

In fact, 94% of the most recent cohort at EDHEC come from outside France. They range between the ages of 24 and 48 and have between 3 and 15 years of work experience. (That’s an average age of 32 with 8 years in the workforce.)

Such diversity is a feature of the EDHEC MBA cohort, and one they’ve worked hard to cultivate.

“Working alongside individuals from various cultures and industries enhances authentic, inclusive, and ethical leadership qualities,” Yacoub says. “It is also important to bridge theoretical concepts with practical, real-world applications.”

In 2024, the Forté Foundation recognized EDHEC as one of the top three MBA programs for women, with 58% of its MBA cohort that year being female. (The 2025 cohort is 57% women.)
EDHEC set a strategy to achieve gender balance in its MBA five years ago, including a generous scholarship scheme, partnering with a local women’s association, working with a diversity expert in residence, adding courses in diversity and inclusion, and highlighting its female alumni in leadership roles.

“Research shows that diverse teams outperform non-diverse teams,” Yacoub says. “The business world needs more women leaders in the pipeline to achieve gender-balanced executive committees and boards.”

‘GIVING YOURSELF PERMISSION TO DREAM BIG’

In terms of employment, 96% of EDHEC MBAs received job offers within three months of graduation, according to the latest employment report. Of those, 77% change location, 73% change industry, 88% change function, and 64% make the coveted “triple jump” by altering all three. 72% secured roles in Europe across industries such as technology (23%), consulting (18%), and financial services (16%).

Part of its success, here, is keeping on top of the ever-changing needs of business and employers. For example, EDHEC has been actively integrating AI into the MBA curriculum, adding a core AI course and bootcamp sessions to get MBAs up to speed quickly. It also developed an MBA track in AI & Innovation for students who want to go deeper.

This month, the MBA started a curriculum review to incorporate even more content in cutting edge tech such as augmented reality, virtual reality, robotics, and other digital advancements.

“There’s a lot to explore in terms of the ethical and environmental implications of AI,” Richez says. “We want our MBAs to graduate with a strong understanding of these issues, not just how to use AI, but also how to manage its impact on organizations, people, and society.”

After earning her MBA this year, Stanway started an internship as chief of staff at an HR tech startup in France. She recently started working on a side hustle with SarGaz, a green tech project founded by two MBA classmates. That project has been accepted into the TechForward incubator near Nice.

“There are so many parallels between my MBA and my current projects. From specializing in Entrepreneurship, to my SIC project on renewables and green financing, to my job shadow at an EDHEC incubator, it’s truly amazing to see it all come full-circle. A lot of the MBA is about trusting the process, and it feels deeply rewarding and validating to see my learnings come into play so quickly and obviously,” Stanway says.

“Pursuing an MBA is about leveling up, but adding to that the global lens and moving countries also really teaches you some intangibles like following your intuition, challenging your internal beliefs and giving yourself permission to dream big.”

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