Collaborations - Gender Initiative

The Summer Start-Up Tour Programme (SSUP!) is a student-led initiative designed for aspiring entrepreneurs to immerse themselves in the world's leading startup ecosystems over a 4-week summer period. Participants, including MBAs and MIMs students, travel to entrepreneurial hubs engaging with founders, VCs, and other key players. SSUP! emphasizes active learning through real-world entrepreneurial experiences, requiring participants to build teams, design their tours, secure funding, and navigate the challenges of startup life, providing a transformative experience. 

The Gender Initiative sponsored AT Studios (Thom Eng and Angela Zhou, MBA 25D) through the Summer Start-Up Tour Programme 2025. Their research explored how Asian-American entrepreneurs are transforming consumer sectors—from beauty to wellness—by building on cultural heritage.

AT Studios investigated the intersection of authentic brand-building and venture funding, examining both successful strategies and persistent gaps in capital access for underrepresented founders. Through interviews with entrepreneurs and investors across New York and San Francisco, they documented how diversity drives innovation in consumer markets.

INSEAD is a proud member of Equal4Europe, a consortium of seven business schools in Europe. Founded in 2020, the consortium works on removing barriers faced by women in academia by addressing gender imbalance in decision making and integrating gender into research and innovation. At INSEAD, professors Kaisa Snellman and Maria Guadalupe served as Academic Co-Directors of this European Union-funded initiative, collaborating closely with Sharon Brooks, Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. 

For toolkits developed by the partners and more resources, please visit the Equal4Europe website.

INSEAD Gender Initiative is a proud partner of the State of Gender Diversity in European Venture report – the most comprehensive analysis mapping the state of funding for female entrepreneurs and emerging fund managers in Europe. The project was led by Female Foundry and INSEAD Alumna Agata Nowicka (MBA19J).