From MBA project to market development: how EDHEC students helped Heeding prepare for international growth

When Sophia Antipolis-based Heeding Climate Solutions began considering its international development, the company faced a question familiar to many growing businesses: where should it focus its efforts next?

The firm’s early development had been regionally focused, but it was preparing to expand across France while assessing wider international opportunities. Its founders needed a structured tool to support strategic decisions and discussions with investors. To develop it, they turned to a team of EDHEC Global MBA participants as part of the programme’s tailored Consulting Project. 

A live strategic challenge

Heeding asked the student team to identify the countries and regions offering the strongest conditions for future development. The project considered market potential, competition, regulation, the readiness of local economic actors and the complexity of entering each market.

The team produced a ranked overview of 50 countries before examining the 10 most promising markets in greater depth. Their work covered market sizing, competitor and stakeholder analysis, regulatory research, SWOT assessments and possible strategic routes, including partnerships, mergers, acquisitions, buyouts and distributor networks.

For Cédric Choel, President of Heeding Climate Solutions, the company needed a decision-making tool to guide its international development.

“We did not have a precise view of the countries and regions most favourable to our development,” he explains. “We therefore asked EDHEC to map the markets with the greatest potential and to provide recommendations that could genuinely guide Heeding’s international development.”

For Carolina Ticona Cortez, a Chilean Global MBA participant, the nature of the challenge was a key part of its appeal.

“I opted for the Consulting Project to apply my skills in a practical, real-world setting with a French business,” she says. “Heeding stood out to me because of its innovative work in the sustainable-fuel sector. Working with a rapidly growing start-up was highly motivating, as I knew our strategic recommendations would directly influence its trajectory and create meaningful impact.”

Analysis with consequences

The project required students to work across international strategy, market analysis and regulation. Sustainable-fuel markets are shaped by evolving energy policies, emissions targets and sector-specific requirements; as such, the team had to turn a wide range of information into a practical framework for decision-making.

Working directly with Heeding’s leadership team crystallised the project's sense of purpose.

“Tackling a real strategic challenge alongside the company’s leadership team was highly motivating from day one,” says Carolina. “Understanding their vision and seeing exactly how our work aligned with their growth plans made us realise the tangible impact we could deliver.”

She also valued the openness of the company’s leadership team.

“Opportunities like this are rare,” she says. “Working with Cédric and his team was fantastic because they were consistently open, receptive and welcoming to our ideas.”

Choel valued the students’ ability to bring structure to a complex and highly regulated subject. He highlighted their multi-criteria ranking of countries, use of a Monte Carlo method, market quantification and strategic analysis.

“The team demonstrated a very high level of professionalism and quickly immersed themselves in a complex and highly regulated subject,” he says. “We particularly appreciated their rational approach, including the multi-criteria ranking of countries based on a Monte Carlo method, as well as their market quantification and strategic analysis.”

The result was a framework that enabled Heeding to compare potential markets, consider routes to market and prepare an international development plan. 

Recommendations that informed Heeding’s next steps

Thanks in part to the GMBA team's recommendations, Heeding decided to begin prospecting in Spain with a Spanish-speaking member of its team. It has also communicated its international development plan to investors as part of its current fundraising round.

For Carolina, seeing the recommendations move beyond the classroom made the experience particularly meaningful.

“We understood early on that our insights were meant to directly inform their international strategy, so hearing that our recommendations are already in motion is incredibly fulfilling,” she says. “I am very proud of the work we delivered.”

The Heeding project reflects the purpose of the tailored MBA project within the EDHEC Global MBA. Over eight weeks, participants apply their learning to a live business challenge, working with a company and its leadership team to produce recommendations with practical relevance.

For Carolina, the project provided direct experience of internationalisation and go-to-market strategy.

“Professionally, I gained first-hand experience in designing a go-to-market strategy and understanding the complexities of internationalising a business,” she explains. “On a personal level, collaborating with a new team in an entirely different industry taught me how to navigate diverse working styles and leverage different perspectives to deliver strong results.”

“It is one thing to learn business concepts during an MBA,” she adds, “but getting to apply them in a way that creates a genuine, real-world impact is an amazing experience.”