Mara Armitage

The LEADER Project (www.leaderproject.com) is an economic development initiative aimed at empowering entrepreneurs through business training. Each year MBA, HBA, PhD and MSc students are sent from Ivey Business School to emerging regions to train and mentor aspiring entrepreneurs as they strive to launch and/or scale new ventures. LEADER began in 1991 following the collapse of the USSR, when a group of MBA students traveled to former Soviet states to both coach a group of government officials, plant managers, entrepreneurs and students on how to run successful businesses in a free-market economy. Since its inception, over 1200 students from the Richard Ivey School of Business have traveled to Eastern Europe to teach over 8500 individuals. LEADER's mission has evolved with the international business context, and given the importance of entrepreneurship for economic development LEADER's current curriculum focuses on developing the skills required to envision, launch and grow a successful enterprise. Through support from the Richard Ivey School of Business, LEADER is able to deliver a combination of cases, lectures, workshops, and coaching to provide decision-making tools that support entrepreneurs in these phases of an entrepreneurial venture.