Supporting Next-Generation Entrepreneurs

• The six-month G-Accelerator program is open to students, alumni, and members of the community who want to start businesses with triple impact.
• The school supports a small number of business ideas each year based on their viability, their potential for impact, and the strength of their teams.
• The program has inspired the school to teach entrepreneurship to students at earlier stages, while also enhancing its reputation and enabling it to attract more funding.

 
In recent years, business schools around the world have realized the importance of nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship on their campuses and in their communities. Schools promote entrepreneurship not only through academic studies, but also through resources that provide aspiring business owners with practical tools and guidance.

Supporting entrepreneurship has become a key goal at GBSB Global Business School, which has campuses in Spain, Malta, and online. In 2018, we created the G-Accelerator program to respond to our students’ increasing desire to develop businesses with a focus on sustainability and social responsibility. The G-Accelerator program offers a practical, hands-on education that equips participants with the knowledge and resources they need to cultivate entrepreneurial skills, develop entrepreneurial mindsets, and turn their ideas into successful business ventures. It also fosters a culture of innovation within our school.

The G-Accelerator is open to current GBSB Global students and alumni, as well as anyone else who aspires to launch entrepreneurial impact ventures. It welcomes entrepreneurs who are still in the seed and pre-seed phases of their journeys. We look for creative and resilient individuals who have a deep desire to own their own businesses, manage their own professional lives, and create something sustainable and profitable that will positively impact the world.

During the six-month program, participants receive mentorship from industry experts and have access to networking events, weekly training sessions, and workshops. The itinerary takes participants on an entrepreneurial journey in which they generate ideas, develop managerial skills, engage in customer and product development, receive market validation, prepare for market entry, and finally establish their companies.

The Call to Action

Every year, the G-Accelerator program launches with an Impact Call to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to create triple impact businesses—those that are socially, economically, and environmentally responsible. Although business ideas can come from any industry, we particularly look for those that will achieve disruption through digitization and innovative business models. Interest in the G-Accelerator has gone up every year, and for the 2023 edition, we received 230 applications.

While each year’s Impact Call features the same roadmap for the entrepreneurial journey, we made some adjustments to this year’s invitation. We emphasized challenges and opportunities in rural areas and required all beneficiaries to establish their companies in Catalonia, the part of Spain that encompasses our campus in Barcelona. That’s because a main scope of the program is to promote entrepreneurial activities in Catalonia and to create new international businesses based in this region.

Applicants who respond to the call are rigorously assessed and a small number are invited into the program. For this year’s program, we selected 10 projects with a total of 22 participants. We work to accept only the most promising candidates, based not only on the strength of their proposals, but also on their mindsets, dedication, and commitment to launching real-impact businesses.

The G-Accelerator program launches with an Impact Call to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to create businesses that are socially, economically, and environmentally responsible.

We evaluate the viability and potential impact of each business idea, as well as how clearly the problem and solution have been defined. We use and weight these six criteria: potential (20 percent), innovativeness (25 percent), possibility of creating triple impact (25 percent), scalability (20 percent), strength of the team (5 percent), and achievement (5 percent).

Entrepreneurs who are accepted into the program receive comprehensive support from GBSB Global as well as our main partners, the University of Vic–Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVic–UCC) and the Institute of Social Innovation and Impact at the University of Northampton in the U.K. This includes financial support from GBSB and UVic–UCC. For the past three years, we also have received public funding from the Generalitat of Catalunya (the local government, known as GenCat) and the European Social Fund Plus, which has allowed us to offer the program to beneficiaries free of charge.

The Entrepreneurial Journey

Classes are held in hybrid mode—in person at our Barcelona campus, and online for those who are remote. Representatives from GBSB Global, UVic–UCC, and the University of Northampton work together to select the topics that will be covered each year.

For every edition of the program, we do a deep analysis of current innovation and business trends to make sure aspiring entrepreneurs will gain the competencies and knowledge they need to develop successful projects. Faculty from the University of Northampton teach participants the best practices of social innovation and triple impact principles; faculty from UVic–UCC help participants with market testing and business model validation; and other experts cover market planning, business readiness, and funding.

In addition, we bring in mentors—professionals who have experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, and business generation, and who understand both economic and social perspectives. We look for mentors who suit the needs of each entrepreneur while also possessing the operational experience to help participants see their projects through the ideation, development, and growth phases. We regularly add new professionals so we can give entrepreneurs more options in choosing their mentors.

At the conclusion of the six-month program, participants gather in Barcelona to attend Demo Day, a mandatory event. At this event, participants make their investor pitches, which are evaluated by a panel of judges that includes representatives of GBSB, UVic–UCC, and the University of Northampton. The event also features presentations from guest speakers and professionals from public and private sectors.

Every year, our final evaluation committee chooses which project will be the overall winner. Members of the jury consider how well each project team has put together a business plan, designed a product prototype, carried out a market validation test, and planned its team and funding strategy for the next stage of development.

The entrepreneurs behind the winning project will have access to a tailor-made accelerator phase. They will be given resources to plan the next stage of development, create their teams, devise funding strategies, and go to market. While the winners do receive additional official support, we are always open to providing all of our startups with the ongoing help they need.

Businesses With Potential

We’re looking forward to this year’s Demo Day, because we believe that the 10 businesses that were accepted into the program have the potential to grow enormously. They are focused on a broad array of goals and products. Two have retail applications, including a company that produces fashionable orthopedic footwear and a company that allows color-blind shoppers to buy with confidence. Three are tied to the healthcare industry, including a holistic wellness program for companies, a platform that supports cancer-management organizations, and a startup designed to restructure the organ transplant system.

The other five are extremely diverse—an aesthetic hydroponics system, a pet-finding portal, a system that allows small villages to share and optimize resources, an online marketplace for small businesses in Barcelona, and a company that provides combined solutions for electric cars and parking spots.

The jury considers how well each project team has put together a business plan, designed a product prototype, carried out a market validation test, and planned its strategy for the next stage of development.

We know that some of these businesses have the potential to do well because several previous startups that passed through our program are now already in the market:

• Minorganics is an e-commerce platform that sells organic menstrual products in bulk. It was deemed the Best Start-Up in the Pre-Seed and Seed Category of the 2020–21 edition of the program.
• ORPHEUS monitors air quality and other comfort criteria as a way to improve people’s welfare and reduce CO2 emissions while minimizing costs. It won Best Start-Up in the Early-Stage Category in 2020–21.
• Agua NEA, the first plastic- and BPA-free mineral water brand in Spain, offers an alternative solution to massive plastic consumption in the hospitality industry.
• SmartMonkey is a digital platform that allows companies to manage deliveries and plan routes.
• ZEB Technologies optimizes the decarbonization of buildings to meet zero-energy and zero-carbon standards. A winner of the 2022 Impact Call edition, it was one of six projects GBSB selected to pitch at the 4YFN (Four Years From Now) funding event of the 2023 Mobile World Congress, where GenCat sponsored 48 Catalan startups.
• V.Trust, a platform for 100 percent plant-based products, focuses on sustainable and environmentally friendly consumption. It was the second-prize winner of the 2022 edition of the Impact Call.

Multiple Impacts

The G-Accelerator program has been transformative for participating entrepreneurs, but it has also had a profound impact on GBSB Global Business School in several ways:

It has prompted a paradigm shift in the courses we offer. GBSB has always nurtured innovation through programs such as our Master of Science in Entrepreneurship, which provides students with the skills they need to start new businesses or develop new products for established companies.

But now we realize that we need to teach entrepreneurial skills at an earlier stage, so we have created the Bachelor of Business in Entrepreneurship. This program, which is taught at our Barcelona campus, provides students with the guidance, mentorship, and practical training they need to be able to launch sustainable, well-grounded businesses.

We realize that we need to teach entrepreneurial skills at an earlier stage, so our bachelor’s program provides students with the training they need to launch sustainable businesses.

In addition, because of the G-Accelerator program, GBSB now places more emphasis on entrepreneurship, innovation, and practical skills. We offer a greater number of specialized courses, workshops, and seminars tailored to the specific needs of aspiring entrepreneurs.

It has had a positive influence on how stakeholders perceive the school. Because GBSB Global has produced successful ventures and fostered a culture of innovation through the G-Accelerator program, we have enhanced our reputation as a hub for entrepreneurial excellence.

We share news about the program through social media platforms, press releases, dedicated websites, newsletters, and networking events. By effectively communicating the program’s achievements, impact stories, and success metrics, we ensure that stakeholders and the media are well-informed and engaged.

It has enabled us to build deeper ties to other organizations. In addition to establishing partnerships with UVic–UCC and the University of Northampton, we have collaborated with organizations such as Associació LEADER Ripollès Ges Bisaura, which supports entrepreneurs in rural areas, and enpact, which supports entrepreneurs around the world.

It has allowed us to amp up our fundraising. Alumni and corporate partners have taken notice of the G-Accelerator program, recognizing it as a driving force for economic growth and job creation.

Steps Toward Success

If other schools want to try something similar to the G-Accelerator, it is crucial that they carefully design and implement programs tailored to the specific needs of their students and their entrepreneurial ecosystem. They should also realize that collaborating with industry experts, alumni, and external partners is vital for success. Additionally, they must secure sustainable funding sources and leverage the school’s reputation and network to ensure the long-term viability and impact of the program.

By creating programs focused on empowering socially minded entrepreneurs, schools will enrich the startup communities in their regions—and perhaps help create more sustainable businesses that can improve the lives of many people on the planet.