Each year, the EFMD Case Writing Competition celebrates the power of storytelling in management education. The 2024 edition showcased an impressive collection of cases spanning industries, regions, and institutions, all reflecting remarkable innovation, depth, and impact.

We continue this special interview series by spotlighting the voices behind these outstanding cases and celebrating their meaningful contributions to management development.

In this interview, we are pleased to feature Doris John, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman College of Business & Entrepreneurship (MBSC), winner in the “African Business Cases ” category.

The category “African Business Cases ” is kindly sponsored by ESCA Ecole de Management. EFMD deeply appreciates the invaluable sponsorship, the profound expertise, and the dedicated efforts of ESCA Ecole de Management in supporting the Case Writing Competition.

‘Samir Ibrahim of SunCulture: A Climate Entrepreneur Enhancing the Quality of Life of Rural Farmers in Africa’

1. Could you briefly introduce yourself and share your academic and/or professional background?

Doris John, Case Center Manager at MBSC, and Professor Larissa von Alberti, Accounting Faculty and Vice Dean of Faculty and Programs at MBSC have successfully collaborated on this case. Doris is an experienced case writer and a winner of several international case competitions. She also manages MBSC’s case collection (https://casecenter.mbsc.edu.sa/), a unique collection of Saudi and Middle East based cases. Dr Larissa, a PhD in Accounting from the University of Southampton, UK, has been at MBSC since 2018. She first joined as an Associate Professor of Accounting, and since 2023, is the Professor of Accounting and Vice Dean of Programs and Faculty.

2. What personal or professional experiences inspired you to write this particular case?

Sustainability and ESG themes have been our area of interest, and we always look for cases in this area. MBSC being a global Business School, we believe that students need more cases on these themes. This is particularly relevant in the Saudi context, since sustainable development is a key part of the Saudi Vision 2030 and we seek to develop and groom more social entrepreneurs. The story of Samir Ibrahim, the climate entrepreneur who had co-founded SunCulture was an impressive one and we were keen to document his entrepreneurial journey as a case study for students.

3. What story were you aiming to tell through your case, and why do you believe it resonates today?

Through this case, we wanted to highlight how entrepreneurs could help innovatively solve critical challenges such as food security and climate impact. By offering affordable and sustainable solar irrigation solutions to farmers, Samir Ibrahim was helping smallholder farmers in several countries in Africa, particularly Kenya. The case focusses on the triple bottom line perspective to sustainability and reiterates that entrepreneurs can provide solutions to problems in society and the environment and also remain profitable. The world today needs more such climate entrepreneurs, and this elucidates the relevance of the case.

4. How did working on this case challenge or shift your perspective as an educator or researcher?

The particular case illustrates innovative entrepreneurial leadership, which led to improving lives. While challenges may be region-specific, the case enhanced our understanding that successful entrepreneurs aim to solve problems and improve lives in the process. As researchers, this gives us opportunity to develop sustainability and entrepreneurial models that can be region specific and are solution-oriented.

5. If there’s one key insight or message you would like readers or students to take away from your case, what would it be?

We hope the case will inspire students to become climate entrepreneurs, contributing to achieve UN SDGs, thus maximizing their impact on society. Becoming a social entrepreneur not only gives the satisfaction of solving problems in society but also leads to long-term financial gains and sustainability. The case sensitizes students to the problems faced by rural farmers and allows them to apply a number of theoretical models to solve the challenges faced by climate entrepreneurs. Allowing students to apply strategic frameworks that they have learned to real-life problems is the beauty of the case method and using this pedagogical approach in entrepreneurship and sustainability leverages learning outcomes.

6. What are the learning objectives you intended to address through the case?

The case traces the entrepreneurial journey of Samir Ibrahim, highlighting his early life experiences and his eagerness to do something for the climate and community. The case describes the journey of SunCulture, the opportunities and challenges faced and its impact on society and the environment. The case can be used in both graduate and post-graduate programs in management and enables students to:

• Understand the concept of sustainable farming and its need
• Explain factors that influence an individual to become a climate entrepreneur
• Assess the qualities of an ESG leader
• Evaluate the impact of a climate-tech startup in improving the quality of life of farmers
• Identify the challenges faced by a climate-tech startup
• Craft a competitive strategy to scale a climate-tech startup

About Sponsorship

EFMD Case Writing Competition is proud to have dedicated sponsors who drive management education towards impactful teaching and learning. Sponsoring a category allows you to showcase your institution’s expertise in the specific field of management education in the wide EFMD network. The choice of category, its exact definition and any specific conditions are the privileges of the sponsor. Sponsorships for the following categories are currently available: Bringing Technology to Market, Continuous Improvement: the Journey to Excellence, and Finance and Banking. If you are interested in sponsoring the mentioned categories or launching a new category relevant to case writing and teaching, please contact Petra Grestenbergerova at petra.grestenbergerova@efmdglobal.org.

More information about the 2024 EFMD Case Writing Competition or Case Interview Series can be found on the EFMD Case Writing Competition page. Please visit The Case Centre’s webpage to access the collection of the winning cases. See other interviews from this series.