IE is built on the pillars of entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. We strive to create an ecosystem where students and graduates can grow and develop their innovative start-ups, expanding far beyond the confines of the campus. Tech-driven tools and environmentally sustainable initiatives are some of the most important projects of all. Take a look at some of the top projects led by IMBA and MIM students in the past few years:
BENHARD NIESNER and ADRIAN HILTI – BUSUU
Benhard Niesner and Adrian Hilti (IMBA, 2007) co-founded Busuu, an online language learning platform in 2008 after their graduation from IE. Backed by McGraw-Hill Education and PROFounders Capital, Busuu has since grown to become a leading international EdTech company and one of the world’s most popular language learning apps, with over 100 million users and more than 200 corporate clients.
Recently, Covid-19 confinement measures have led to a surge in demand for Busuu. Niesner said the company has seen a threefold increase in new users in countries like China and Italy. As the world started to go into lockdown, Busuu quickly launched Keep Kids Learning, an initiative to provide free online language classes for children out of school.
OLEKSANDR (ALEX) BONDARENKO – DISCOPERI
Revolutionizing automated road safety, Alex Bondarenko (IMBA, 2017) founded Discoperi, which offers blockchain-based solutions to improve driver safety, prevent accidents, and monetize automotive.
Last year, Microsoft Azure Marketplace listed Discoperi’s internally developed СITY AI, a set of neural networks and algorithms designed to help governments, municipalities, road management operators, parking operators, and airport operators to optimize their transportation infrastructure and reduce congestion.
Bondarenko said his time IE opened doors and helped him clarify his understanding of entrepreneurship.
ESLAM HUSEIN and PULKIT GANJOO – INVYGO
Eslam Husein (IMBA, 2018) and Pulkit Ganjoo (MIM and Master in Business Analytics and Big Data, 2017) founded Invygo to offer sustainable transportation via a car subscription service app, the first of its kind in Dubai.
Husein had extensive previous experience in the auto services industry. He witnessed a fragmented value chain between customer and dealer expectations, and manufacturers. But it was during his IMBA in an entrepreneurship class that something clicked.
“There is a significant gap between today’s fast-moving economy, an uncertain world, and the traditional retail model car dealers are offering,” Husein said. “Consumers needed a more flexible, easy way to get a car based on their needs.”
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