Choosing to act: the next generation of Impact Entrepreneurs’ projects

From food waste reduction to mental health, from standardisation of culture to IoT: the next generation of Impact Entrepreneurs Choose to act!

The second edition of the Option-E Impact Entrepreneurship MIM specialisation wrapped up with a final event at the Cottino Social Impact Campus.

Since January until the event, Option-E students followed a full immersion path to transform themselves into a new generation of entrepreneurs able to create their own businesses with an economic, social and environmental impact. 
After this intense and enriching experience, the MIM students presented their business ideas developed during the semester at "Choose to Act! Pitch Your Project for Change". 

In the first part of the event, guests could explore the different business concepts by visiting the project booths, where each group of students presented its prototype and pitched its idea.

Alisa Sydow, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the ESCP Turin Campus, and Giuseppe Dell'Erba, Board Member Cottino Social Impact Campus, were the event hosts. After the presentation of the judges and the groups, they left the floor to the students.

With their pitches and well-argued responses in the Q&A session with the panel, Option-E students demonstrated their aim to transform the world through entrepreneurial initiatives that create value and benefit people and communities by promoting a more inclusive and sustainable economic model.

While the judges were deciding the winner, Emanuela Barbano, President and Founder of Biova Project, gave her inspiring and motivating keynote speech. It was related to her entrepreneurial experience as one of the creators of a circular economy project that transforms unsold bread into high-quality craft beer by working on a short chain.

The panel of judges was impressed by the quality and value of the projects proposed by the five ESCP teams of students and decided to award prizes to two of them.

Prof Francesco Rattalino, ESCP Turin Campus Dean, announced the winning teams:

• Fooze, made up of Giulia Piras, Marc Goldfrad, Valentina Johannson, Mariafrancesca Dagostino and Sidney Togu, who presented software that reduces food waste by enabling customers to purchase imperfect products or goods close to their expiry date.
• FirStep, made up of Lorenzo Pastorelli, Federico Liboi Bentley, Filippo Petecchi and Marco Allori, who proposed a counselling platform that guarantees anonymity by using a customisable avatar.

Both teams won an Inspirational Mentorship Session offered by Nicola Lambert to Fooze and Danila De Stefano to FirStep. 

Fooze also won the "People's Choice Award".

Congratulation to the two winning teams for their achievement and innovative ideas!

Alisa Sydow, who guided the students through their professional and personal development, was impressed by the results and the entrepreneurial mindset of the students. "This year we were finally able to provide not only an exciting journey into the world of entrepreneurship, but we were also able to create a real-life experience for every student. It was such a pleasure seeing the impact of this on each student's way of thinking" she said. 

Special thanks to all the participants and the panel: Simone De Ruosi, Go Global Ecommerce CEO & Founder; Danila De Stefano, Unobravo CEO & Founder; Elena Ferrero, Atelier Riforma Founder; Nicola Lambert, Partner of Oltre Impact; Giancarlo Rocchietti, Club degli Investitori Founder and President.

The Impact Entrepreneurship Programme - Option-E, co-designed by ESCP Business School and Cottino Social Impact Campus, is designed to train the next generation of experts in Impact Entrepreneurship. The course is an ESCP Master in Management specialisation to acquire new strategic skills for impact management and the keys to becoming an entrepreneur of the future, building a business that will have a positive impact on the world. 

We can't wait to meet the next cohort of Impact Entrepreneurship students!