IE Business School, iWeekend, Ashoka and the Aspen Institute organize Impact Weekend

The innovative event has been organized with the collaboration of iWeekend, Ashoka and the Aspen Institute, and will bring together IE students and young social entrepreneurs from across Spain at IE's campus and Hub Madrid to share ideas and develop business projects designed to have a positive impact on society and the environment.

The project is being coordinated by IE's Net Impact chapter, run by IE students and aimed at promoting projects with a social or environmental focus, and IE's Venture Lab, a division of IE Business School that provides support for its students' business ideas and projects.

Ten projects have been selected and in the course of the weekend more than 30 IE students and social entrepreneurs will work together to draft a highly detailed version of each of these 10  business plans. The projects propose innovative solutions to key social problems in areas like education, agriculture, or the environment. Only five projects will reach the final stage, which will take place on Sunday, when  a panel comprised of professionals from the social sector (Ashoka, Fundación Hazlo Posible, Socialnest) and European risk capital investors (Baring Partners, Telefónica Private Equity, Creas Venture Capital) will choose the overall winner. The winning team will participate in the September 2011 edition of IE Venture Lab. The Venture Lab is an IE Business School initiative that fosters and supports entrepreneurial projects, and serves as an interface between IE students and potential sources of funding for their business projects.