Open since November, the marathon call for projects ended last week for KEDGE's Business Nursery. Available on three campuses and also in a fully digital version, the Business Nursery received nearly 500 applications to join its various startup incubators and accelerators.

After a preliminary selection of applications and three selection committees that saw candidates pitch their projects, no fewer than 92 projects were selected across all programs for this new class.

Among these, the juries selected a high proportion of projects led by women, who represent 54% of this new cohort. This is a significant and particularly encouraging result given the under-representation of women at the head of French startups. Let's not forget that only 7% of French startups are led by women (StarHer & KPMG study).

This new, predominantly female cohort is in line with the commitments of the Business Nursery, which signed the SISTA charter last September, aimed at promoting support for women entrepreneurs.

Furthermore, as CSR is a major focus of Kedge BS's strategy, particular attention was paid to high-impact projects: 32 start-ups across the entire class, representing 35% of projects with a responsible and sustainable focus.

The new project leaders therefore began the academic year on January 14 in an online format in order to comply with the health regulations in force. Two former incubatees were invited for the occasion: Adrien Martin, CEO @ Archidvisor, and Hakim Baka, CEO @ Geev and coach at the Business Nursery. They shared their experiences, followed by a discussion with the new class, who were full of enthusiasm and motivation!

List of selected projects:

Marseille — Toulon : https://airtable.com/shrgqOjI7nqx45Zu8

Bordeaux : https://airtable.com/shrUKb4QgDcsItmJL

Digital : https://airtable.com/shroNP15cdnANY1C7