London Business School has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the MiSK Foundation, marking a significant step in strengthening educational and leadership ties between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia.The agreement,announced in London,sets out a framework for collaboration on executive education,leadership advancement,and knowledge exchange,aimed at equipping a new generation of leaders with the skills to drive economic and social transformation.Under the partnership, LBS and MiSK will work together to design and deliver bespoke programmes, expand research cooperation, and facilitate cross-border networking opportunities for entrepreneurs and policymakers. The MoU underscores both institutions’ commitment to investing in human capital and aligns with Saudi Arabia’s broader Vision 2030 agenda, which prioritises education, innovation, and global partnerships as engines of long-term growth.
Strategic partnership between London Business School and MiSK Foundation to foster leadership in Saudi Arabia
Forged at the intersection of global expertise and national ambition, the new alliance brings together London Business School’s world-renowned faculty and MiSK Foundation’s deep local insight into Saudi Arabia’s rapidly evolving talent landscape. The collaboration will design custom leadership pathways for emerging and mid-career professionals, with a focus on Vision 2030 priorities such as economic diversification, digital innovation, and public-sector transformation. Programmes will blend campus-based learning in London and Riyadh with immersive, real-world projects, ensuring that participants not only gain advanced management skills but also learn to navigate complex stakeholder ecosystems within the Kingdom.
Beyond individual development, the agreement is structured to build institutional capacity and a lasting leadership pipeline across sectors. Joint initiatives will include:
- Executive education suites tailored for senior leaders in government, family businesses, and high-growth companies.
- Youth leadership academies aimed at university students and early-career professionals from across Saudi regions.
- Applied research collaborations addressing governance, entrepreneurship, and innovation policy.
- Mentorship and alumni networks that connect Saudi talent with LBS’s global community of practitioners.
| Focus Area | Key Outcome |
|---|---|
| Public Sector Leadership | Agile policy design and citizen-centric services |
| Entrepreneurship | Scalable ventures led by Saudi founders |
| Digital Economy | Leaders fluent in data, AI, and new business models |
| Social Impact | Purpose-driven initiatives aligned with Vision 2030 |
Joint initiatives to enhance entrepreneurship education and youth empowerment across the region
Through the new collaboration, both institutions will co-design immersive learning experiences that connect young talent with real-world business challenges, from early-stage ideation to market entry. Joint bootcamps,cross-border hackathons and virtual incubator programmes will bring together students,alumni,and young professionals from across the Middle East,Europe and beyond.These initiatives will be supported by industry-led mentoring, access to experiential projects with regional employers, and curated exposure to venture capital networks. The partnership also envisages co-branded certificates for select programmes,providing emerging founders with recognisable credentials that strengthen their profiles in a competitive global marketplace.
Central to the collaboration is a shared ambition to make entrepreneurial skills more accessible to young people, irrespective of background.A portfolio of blended programmes will focus on founder mindset, digital innovation, and responsible leadership, delivered through online modules, in-person intensives and community-based labs. Targeted outreach will prioritise under-represented groups, while micro-grants and pitch competitions will help promising ideas move from concept to prototype. Together, the partners plan to build a regional ecosystem in which youth-led ventures can scale, attracting cross-border investment and generating long-term socio-economic impact.
- Cross-campus accelerators linking London and key regional hubs
- Mentorship circles featuring LBS alumni and MiSK network leaders
- Impact-driven pitch days focused on social and green ventures
- Scholarship-backed seats for high-potential youth entrepreneurs
| Programme | Audience | Focus Area |
|---|---|---|
| Startup Lab Series | University & early-career | Idea validation & prototyping |
| NextGen Venture Sprint | Young founders | Scaling and investor readiness |
| Future Leaders Hub | High-school & pre-university | Entrepreneurial mindset & skills |
Integrating global business expertise with local innovation for sustainable economic development
At the heart of this partnership is a dynamic exchange between seasoned international practitioners and emerging Saudi talent, where classroom theory converges with real-world experimentation. Faculty and industry leaders from London will co-design programmes with local innovators, ensuring that global frameworks on strategy, finance and leadership are reinterpreted through a distinctly Saudi lens. This approach not only strengthens the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, it also positions Riyadh as a testing ground for new models of growth that can be replicated across the region. Together, the partners will curate learning journeys that move beyond lectures to immersive field projects, enabling participants to apply advanced tools to the Kingdom’s most pressing development priorities.
Programmes will blend world-class management insight with grassroots creativity, focusing on sectors where the Kingdom is rapidly diversifying its economy. Through curated labs, mentorship networks and applied research, participants will explore how to build ventures that are both commercially viable and socially responsible. Key areas of collaboration include:
- Entrepreneurship labs that pair local start-ups with global mentors
- Impact-focused accelerators targeting job creation and inclusive growth
- Policy dialogues on regulation,governance and investment readiness
- Data-driven research on emerging markets and youth-led innovation
| Focus Area | Global Input | Local Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Start-up Scaling | Best-practise playbooks | Region-ready growth models |
| Human Capital | Leadership curricula | Future-ready Saudi leaders |
| Impact Investment | Global ESG standards | New financing avenues |
Recommendations for policymakers and educators to maximize impact of the LBS MiSK collaboration
To fully unlock the promise of this partnership,policymakers are urged to create an enabling ecosystem where regulatory frameworks,funding mechanisms and national skills strategies converge around future-focused leadership education. This means aligning scholarship schemes, visa policies and public-private innovation funds with the joint programmes developed by London Business School and the MiSK Foundation, ensuring that top Saudi and global talent can move seamlessly between Riyadh, London and other innovation hubs. Simultaneously occurring,embedding data-informed decision-making into national education reforms will allow authorities to track graduate outcomes,industry integration and regional impact in real time,so that the collaboration continually adapts to the Kingdom’s evolving Vision 2030 priorities.
For educators and institutional leaders, the collaboration serves as an invitation to reimagine how classrooms, campuses and digital platforms prepare the next generation of Gulf and global changemakers. Faculty are encouraged to co-design experiential learning journeys with industry partners, drawing on London Business School’s research depth and MiSK’s youth ecosystem to cultivate practical problem-solving and entrepreneurial resilience. Key steps include:
- Co-created curricula that blend global management thinking with Saudi and regional case studies.
- Joint mentoring networks connecting students with alumni, founders and policy leaders.
- Hybrid delivery models using in-person immersion in Riyadh and London, supported by digital learning studios.
- Impact tracking dashboards that monitor social, economic and innovation outcomes over time.
| Priority Area | Policymaker Focus | Educator Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Talent Pipeline | Targeted scholarships | Career-aligned programmes |
| Innovation | R&D incentives | Applied research labs |
| Global Exposure | Mobility frameworks | Exchange and immersion |
| Impact | National KPIs | Graduate outcome data |
To Conclude
As London Business School and the MiSK Foundation move from agreement to execution, the Memorandum of Understanding marks more than a ceremonial milestone. It signals a shared commitment to cultivating future-ready leaders, deepening the exchange of ideas between the UK and Saudi Arabia, and accelerating innovation across sectors and borders.
In the months ahead, the impact of this strategic partnership will be measured not only in joint programmes and initiatives, but in the entrepreneurs empowered, careers transformed and communities served. For both institutions, the MoU is a starting point-one that underscores a common belief: that world-class education and cross-cultural collaboration are essential drivers of sustainable economic and social progress.
