How to Expand Internationally? EMLV Students Tackle Challenges Through Capstone Project

Businesses’ international expansion stays on course. A new global survey by CFO Research claims that 81% of the companies still intend to keep moving across borders. At EMLV, students put their skills to the test to support companies go global through the Capstone project.

It has been a tradition that each year, 4th-year International Business students create and implement a capstone project intended to help companies expand their markets.

2021’s capstone : supporting companies’ international growth

At EMLV, the Capstone project is client-based research and consulting project that allows master’s-level students to practice the skills gained throughout their training at the EMLV Business School.

The Capstone project’s goal is to develop a new generation of consultants who demonstrate high skills in supporting the internationalization of new structures.

This project mobilizes many skills developed over the two semesters of the M1 International Business program: innovation management & strategy, international team management, corporate governance, business decisions & data analytics …

Company representatives have met the teams of students that had the privilege of working as consultants on the internationalization of the company’s activity. This year’s program, a two-tier project covering two semesters, includes in-depth student diagnosis of the firms, business models’ analyses, and strategical recommendations.

Du green et du love: exporting French well-being to Canada and the US

This project is undertaken by: Kadiatou DIALLO, Kohei KUNISAKI, Nabeel SHAHBAZ, Arthur PAPIN. Du green et du love is a well-being company whose goal is to guide people into holistically improving their inner self.

On her website, Clélia, the company’s founder, gives us tools to free ourselves from our day-to-day struggles and find joy and relaxation in elementary things.

It goes from food advice to yoga classes, from travel inspiration to personal development. One of the services that Clélia is the proudest of is the “Sonothérapie”.

The two markets selected by “Du green et du love” are Canada and the US, and different rules are applied. Research conducted on 62 participants in the US aged 42 showed a significant reduction in tension, depression and anxiety (Tamara L. Goldsby, Michael E. Goldsby, 2020).

• Global social media presence
• Hiring Anglophone tutors
• Enter the market through partnership first
• Starting in Canada, target universities in priority
• Make a mobile application

Gear Printer: climbing the German and Dutch markets

Robin JARRIGE, Mohamed Youssef CHAMAKH, Ahmed ASHARY and Alexandre CORTES worked with GearPrinter. This start-up company designs and manufactures recycled, recyclable and compostable climbing gear and holds.

The particularity of these products is that they 3D-printed with recycled PLA, which makes GearPrinter a circular economy player. Whether damaged or broken, each product can be sent back to the supplier to be transformed back into PLA and generate new GearPrinter products.

This technology has three critical advantages over its competitors :

• Use of recycled, recyclable and compostable plastic.
• Flexibility to adapt quickly to customer demands or market changes.
• Customization of products according to clients’ needs.

GearPrinter wants to expand its market in the Netherlands and Germany. “We found that 72% of Dutch people practise a sport regularly, compared to almost 60% in France. In the Netherlands, 8 million people are practising sports weekly for a total population of 17 million.”

EMLV’s team recommendations for Gear Printer:

• Hiring consultants and local managers
• Promoting themselves in some specialized magazines (like Grimper magazine, for example)
• Making agreements with climbing shops in different big cities
• Social media presence (Facebook)
• Repositioning of product

Hey Axel: Augmenting the onboard experience

Diana ANDRE, Valentin TRZASKA, Thibault DE VINZELLES, Louis LECLERCQ assesed the market potential of Axel, an HR startup that was founded in 2018 in France. 

Axel’s challenge is to empower the new augmented manager through a virtual onboarding assistant. According to a study from 2019, one in three managers in France has resigned due to onboarding failures. 

Axel orchestrates the integration of the newcomer by supporting the manager and HR during the pre-boarding and onboarding stages. The platform helps the manager to prepare onboarding before arrival:

• Implementation of good practices: appointment of a mentor, definition of integration objectives
• Automation of tasks such as scheduling appointments or ordering equipment
• Direct integration in the client’s workspace; no user account creation or installation is required.

“Axel wants to expand its market share in Nordic countries. Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden are the natural market for these technologies, as they have the world’s best working life.” 

EMLV team’s insights into Axel’s international strategy:

• By investing more, the start-up can capture more AI first-mover/fast-follower advantage
• The Nordic countries largely dominate the ranking in terms of ICT use and development
• Norway is also focused on the digitalization of society and businesses; it has the highest rate of Internet access in the world (98%)