This unique training program, designed for young entrepreneurs aged 18 to 30, mainly from disadvantaged neighborhoods, aims to develop the entrepreneurial skills and employability of these future entrepreneurs. At the end of three years of study, fully funded by sponsors, the 14 student entrepreneurs will graduate with a four-year degree in General Management from KEDGE.

Funding

KEDGE, in close collaboration with Apprentis d'Auteuil, set up this regional project and convinced numerous stakeholders to participate in this philanthropic initiative.

Entrepreneur-sponsors finance the scholarships, while public and private stakeholders in the field identify young people and refer them to the program. Financial and social support removes the main obstacles (mobility, housing, food, health, computer equipment) and helps reduce the risk of dropouts.

Recently, La Capitale French Tech Aix-Marseille, impressed by the initiative, sponsored it during the second edition of the French Tech Community Fund.

The selected talents

Fourteen women and men from priority neighborhoods, aged 18 to 30 and with at least a high school diploma, were selected for their professional projects and their thirst for learning and entrepreneurship.

The first lessons will be given on Thursday, November 5, at the KEDGE Accelerator.

Bruno Galy, Deputy Director for the South East at Apprentis d'Auteuil, emphasizes, “Apprentis d'Auteuil has been working for 150 years to promote the dignity of young people and families in difficulty. Through the Entrepreneurial School, educational innovation is combined with social openness, enabling the mobilization of our teams and partners.”

Innovative teaching methods

Alexandre de Navailles, CEO of KEDGE, explains, "The Entrepreneurial School is an inclusive, educational, and philanthropic innovation. It is also an internal innovation and a source of pride for our teams. This complex business project, developed over 12 months, brings together all our expertise and reflects our strategic priorities: entrepreneurship, academic excellence, regional influence, impact/CSR, student engagement, and a unique customer experience."

The program's educational design is structured around and serves the skills to be assessed, rather than theoretical knowledge.

“Tools & knowledge” will be offered remotely and in person to understand, confront, mobilize, and train with the group and experts (eight coaches and twelve permanent faculty members). Collective and individual coaching, co-development sessions, in-depth sessions, and inspiring conferences will round out this excellent training program.

KEDGE, in conjunction with its School of Design and in partnership with Epitech and the coding schools that are members of Code4Marseille, offers entrepreneurs a digital agency. The aim is to enable each project leader to focus on their core business and outsource the digital aspect to the agency if the project requires this expertise. The agency will be made up of students from Epitech or another coding school that is a member of the Code4Marseille association who, as part of their studies, will be assessed on a project submitted by an entrepreneur from the Entrepreneurial School. 

An initiative promoting employability

Each year, students obtain a certification and, after three years, they will graduate from KEDGE's “General Management Program” with a four-year degree and will be able to complete their education with a master's degree.

Blandine Ott, Head of Employment and Training at AKTO, and Éric Sirven, Head of Sponsorship and the KEDGE Entrepreneurial School, add, "A young person completes all or part of the three-year program and then joins a company attracted by their entrepreneurial skills or starts their own business. In either case, it's a win-win situation for everyone. Employability will be guaranteed thanks to self-knowledge, learning experience, the acquisition of knowledge and soft skills, skills certification, integration into the KEGDE community, and new visibility on the job market."

By 2021, the program will be extended to the Bordeaux and Paris campuses, supporting 80 new students.