Mondragon Unibertsitatea's Business Faculty promotes young talent to transform Basque commerce through Market Berri
Mondragon Unibertsitatea's Business Faculty promotes young talent to transform Basque commerce through Market Berri
Mondragon Unibertsitatea's Business Faculty promotes young talent to transform Basque commerce through Market Berri
The third edition of the programme, developed together with the Basque Government's Department of Commerce, concludes after seven months during which LEINN students designed innovative solutions to real challenges facing Basque commerce
The Business Faculty of Mondragon Unibertsitarea, through Mondragon Team Academy, has hosted the closing event of the third edition of Market Berri, the commercial innovation and entrepreneurship programme developed in partnership with the Basque Government's Department of Commerce.
Over the past seven months, students from the Bachelor's Degree in Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation (LEINN) at the Oñati, Irun and Bilbao labs have worked alongside retailers and key stakeholders to develop innovative solutions to some of the main challenges facing Basque commerce, including vacant retail spaces, business succession, digitalisation, neighbourhood revitalisation and changing consumer habits.
This third edition featured nine projects, selected from nearly thirty initial proposals. Student teams presented the results of their work, showcasing user validation processes, prototypes and initial market traction, demonstrating the potential of young entrepreneurship to drive innovation within the Basque retail sector.
The event was opened by Izaskun Gómez Cermeño, Director of Commerce of the Basque Government, and Aitor Lizartza, Coordinator of Mondragon Team Academy, who highlighted the importance of strengthening the commercial ecosystem through collaboration between public institutions, academia and businesses, while empowering young talent as a driver of transformation.
The programme also included a panel discussion featuring Gustavo Azevedo, founder of GUSTAZOS POSTRERÍA (Vitoria-Gasteiz), and Lidia Hernández, from ZUZEU (Tolosa), who shared their experiences in entrepreneurship, community building and innovation in local commerce.
The event concluded with a surprise performance prepared by Elore, a project developed by the LEINN Oñati lab.
With the successful completion of its third edition, the Faculty of Business Studies of Mondragon University and the Basque Government reaffirm their commitment to a programme that connects challenge-based learning with the transformation of commerce, while announcing that work is already underway on the fourth edition of Market Berri, aimed at fostering a more innovative, competitive and community-driven retail sector in the Basque Country.