INSEAD: ETA Across Two Continents

When INSEAD launched its ETA & Search Funds Hub, it did something no other top business school had done: it placed a tenured professor at the helm of a dedicated institutional program spanning two campuses on two continents. Fontainebleau sits at the heart of the European search fund ecosystem. Singapore opens the door to Southeast Asia, one of the fastest-growing regions for entrepreneurial acquisition. Together, they give INSEAD a geographic footprint that no single-campus MBA can replicate.

The timing was deliberate. Search funds have expanded well beyond their North American origins, with the IESE 2024 International Search Fund Study documenting 320 funds outside the US and Canada. INSEAD recognized that its own alumni were already active in the space, and that a formal institutional commitment could accelerate what was already happening organically. The result is a program built around global reach, academic rigor, and the practical realities of acquiring a business in markets where the search fund model is still relatively new.

For anyone considering getting started in ETA with an international perspective, INSEAD presents a distinctive proposition: a world-class MBA that treats cross-border search not as an afterthought, but as the central thesis.

INSEAD's value in the ETA landscape derives from three structural advantages: its dual-campus model, its globally diverse cohort, and its 10-month program length.

The dual-campus structure is not merely logistical. Students rotate between Fontainebleau and Singapore, building networks in both Europe and Asia during the program itself. For a prospective searcher, this means arriving at graduation with relationships on two continents rather than one. In a model where deal flow depends heavily on personal networks and local market knowledge, that geographic breadth has direct economic value.

INSEAD's cohort is among the most internationally diverse of any MBA program. Students routinely represent 80 or more nationalities. This diversity creates natural pathways for cross-border search strategies, where a searcher might raise capital in one country, source deals in another, and draw on classmates' knowledge to navigate local regulatory environments.

The 10-month format also matters. Unlike two-year US programs, INSEAD compresses the MBA experience, which means lower total tuition, less opportunity cost, and a faster return to the market. For someone with a clear ETA thesis, the shorter timeline can be an advantage. You build the skills and the network, then move directly into your search. For a broader perspective on how program length affects the ROI of an MBA for search fund careers, this is a meaningful variable.

The ETA & Search Funds Hub sits within the INSEAD Centre for Entrepreneurship and serves as the institutional anchor for all search fund activity at the school. Unlike student-led clubs that depend on annual leadership turnover, the Hub is a permanent institutional structure with faculty governance, dedicated programming, and long-term strategic goals.

The Hub coordinates several functions: curriculum development, community building across both campuses, mentorship connecting current students with alumni operators, and event programming including the new biannual INSEAD ETA Conference. It also serves as the public-facing entry point for prospective students, investors, and alumni who want to engage with INSEAD's ETA ecosystem.

Placing a tenured professor as Academic Director signals that INSEAD views ETA as a permanent part of its strategic identity, not a passing trend. This institutional commitment matters for students who want confidence that the resources and networks they build during the MBA will be maintained and expanded after they graduate.

Ivana Naumovska

Naumovska is Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship & Family Enterprise at INSEAD and holds a tenured position, a distinction that carries weight in the context of ETA programs. Most ETA courses at business schools are taught by adjunct lecturers or practitioners on short-term appointments. Having a tenured faculty member as Academic Director of the ETA Hub gives the program both stability and academic credibility.

Her research spans entrepreneurship, organizational behavior, and decision-making under uncertainty, topics that are directly relevant to the search fund experience. In 2024, she was named to the Poets&Quants Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors list, reflecting recognition from the broader business education community.

Naumovska teaches Realising Entrepreneurial Potential, the P4 elective that includes a live acquisition project. She also oversees the strategic direction of the Hub, including its event programming, mentorship structures, and curriculum development. For students evaluating how MBA programs prepare students for ETA, INSEAD's faculty model represents a different approach: fewer instructors, but with deeper institutional authority.

INSEAD's current ETA curriculum centers on a single dedicated elective, with the Hub providing supplementary programming outside the formal classroom.

Realising Entrepreneurial Potential is offered in Period 4, the final period of the INSEAD MBA. The course includes a live acquisition project, meaning students work through the mechanics of evaluating, structuring, and negotiating an actual deal, not a case study simulation. This hands-on component distinguishes the course from lecture-based ETA electives at other schools.

The single-course model reflects INSEAD's compressed 10-month timeline. Where two-year programs can offer a sequence of introductory, intermediate, and advanced ETA courses, INSEAD concentrates the experience into one intensive elective supported by Hub-organized workshops, speaker series, and mentorship pairings. The trade-off is fewer classroom hours in exchange for a more concentrated, project-driven experience.

Students who want a broader academic foundation before launching a search may find that the supplementary programming through the Hub fills some of that gap. INSEAD's broader entrepreneurship electives in negotiation, private equity, and corporate finance also provide relevant preparation.

In November 2025, INSEAD held its first ETA Conference in Singapore with over 250 attendees. The event brought together searchers, investors, operators, and faculty from across Asia-Pacific and beyond, establishing INSEAD as a convening force in the global ETA community.

Starting in 2026, the conference runs on a biannual schedule: Fontainebleau in May and Singapore in November. This rhythm mirrors INSEAD's dual-campus identity and creates two annual touchpoints for the school's global ETA network. The European edition complements the existing conference calendar that includes events organized by IESE and London Business School, while the Singapore edition fills a geographic gap. There has been no comparable ETA conference anchored in Asia until now.

For the broader ETA ecosystem, the INSEAD conference represents an important expansion. Search funds in Southeast Asia, India, and Japan are growing, but the infrastructure of conferences, communities, and institutional support has lagged behind North America and Europe. An INSEAD-branded event in Singapore helps close that gap.

INSEAD states on its ETA Hub page that over 100 ETA vehicles have been launched by alumni. This figure deserves context. It is an institutional marketing claim that encompasses search funds, self-funded searches, and other acquisition-driven entrepreneurial vehicles across the global INSEAD alumni network.

We were unable to independently verify the count or identify the specific vehicles included. Unlike Stanford GSB, which publishes a detailed study with named funds and tracked outcomes, or IESE, which maintains a research center with a public dataset, INSEAD has not yet released comparable data. This is not unusual for a program that recently formalized its ETA commitment, but it means prospective students should treat the number as directional rather than definitive.

What is clear is that INSEAD's alumni base of over 65,000 professionals across 175 countries provides an unusually broad network for sourcing deals, finding co-investors, and building management teams in unfamiliar markets. For searchers who plan to operate internationally, this network breadth may matter more than a precise alumni searcher count. For more on the European landscape specifically, see our overview of ETA in Europe.

INSEAD MBA tuition is approximately EUR 109,860 total for the 10-month program (August 2026 intake). This is a single lump-sum cost, not an annual figure, which makes direct comparison with two-year US programs important.

In absolute terms, INSEAD's tuition is comparable to one year at a top US program but covers the entire MBA. When opportunity cost is factored in, the shorter duration widens the gap further. A 10-month program means roughly 14 fewer months of foregone salary compared to a two-year alternative. For a prospective searcher with a clear thesis, this can shift the MBA ROI calculation meaningfully.

INSEAD offers scholarships and financial aid, though the school does not currently offer a search-fund-specific fellowship comparable to those at Harvard ($130,000) or Wharton ($50,000). Students considering the financial dimension should evaluate total cost of attendance, including living expenses in Fontainebleau and Singapore, alongside the post-MBA search timeline.

INSEAD occupies a unique position in the ETA landscape. It is the only top-tier MBA program offering dedicated ETA resources across two continents, but it is newer to the space than the established leaders. Understanding where it fits requires comparing it against the programs most prospective applicants will also consider.

INSEAD vs. IESE

IESE is the established leader in European and international ETA. Its International Search Fund Center, founded in 2011, tracks 320 funds, and over 60 alumni have raised search funds across 20 countries. IESE offers a dedicated MBA elective and an executive education bootcamp, and it has published the definitive international search fund dataset.

INSEAD's advantages over IESE are geographic reach (Asia in addition to Europe), program speed (10 months vs. 19), and the institutional weight of a tenured Academic Director. IESE's advantages are a longer track record, more published research, and a deeper network of verified alumni searchers. Candidates focused on European search fund research will find IESE's data output more developed.

INSEAD vs. London Business School

London Business School has deeper historical roots in ETA. Simon Webster raised the first non-US search fund at LBS in 1992 and now teaches the ETA elective there. LBS also benefits from its London location, which provides proximity to the UK private equity and search fund investor community.

INSEAD's advantages over LBS are its dual-campus model, its formal ETA Hub with tenured leadership, and its conference presence in Asia. LBS's advantages are its UK network, its published case studies, and its longer-established co-organized conference with IESE. For candidates choosing between the two, geography and target market are likely the deciding factors.

INSEAD is the strongest fit for candidates who already have a clear international ETA thesis and want the global network to execute it. The ideal applicant has three to seven years of professional experience, comfort with cross-cultural environments, and an interest in searching for acquisition targets in Europe, Asia, or across borders.

The 10-month format favors candidates who are ready to move quickly. If you need a longer runway to explore whether ETA is the right path, a two-year program with multiple ETA courses may be a better fit. But if you arrive with conviction and want to minimize time and cost before launching your search, INSEAD's compressed timeline is a genuine advantage.

Candidates should also consider their target geography carefully. INSEAD's network is deepest in France, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. If your search thesis centers on the US or Canada, programs like Stanford GSB, Harvard, or Chicago Booth will provide stronger local networks. If your thesis is specifically European, IESE remains the most proven choice. But if your ambition is genuinely cross-border, spanning Europe and Asia or targeting emerging markets where search funds are just gaining traction, INSEAD offers something no other program does.

For a comprehensive comparison of all programs, see our ranking of the best MBA programs for search funds. And for candidates exploring whether an MBA is the right investment for an ETA career at all, our guide to finding investors provides context on how investor expectations intersect with educational background.

• Getting started with search funds
• European search fund research: the IESE dataset
• MBA and ETA: how business school prepares you
• Best MBA programs for search fund careers
• MBA ROI for search fund entrepreneurs
• ETA in Europe: landscape and opportunities
• Finding investors for your search fund
• IESE Business School profile
• London Business School profile
• Stanford GSB profile