Acredius & EHL School of Hospitality — A Strategic Partnership

Acredius is glad to announce a strategic partnership with the EHL Hospitality Business School via its Institute of Real Estate Finance and Economics, the best hotel management school in the world.

Acredius and EHL are committed to generating valuable ideas and delivering innovative solutions through a comprehensive cognitive collaboration. This collaborative effort spans various domains of mutual interest between Acredius and the EHL Hospitality Business School.

Within its Student Business Project framework, EHL will designate a group of students to collaborate with Acredius data scientists. Consequently, this partnership will result in the development of the Acredius green scoring model. This model assesses how effectively a company/hotel has integrated environmental corporate social responsibility into its business.

In addition, Acredius, alongside EHL coaches, will facilitate development discussions across different departments of both establishments. Furthermore, Acredius will furnish participants with innovative, solution-driven recommendations, aiding in comprehending their strengths, potential, and skills in fintech and sustainability. As partners, they will collaboratively ensure the program’s progression and its alignment with market needs and potential clients.

The role of EHL students will involve providing data collection support and researching secondary and external data sets related to hotel management and environmental quality. Furthermore, the students will learn to build performance data and research environmental issues along with green specifications. This valuable opportunity will enable the participating students to apply their academic and practical knowledge to real-life solutions. Moreover, it will facilitate the exploration of wider cooperation horizons between business establishments and research institutions for both partners.

The green scoring model is the beginning of Acredius and EHL’s approach toward more sustainable businesses. The assessment model seeks to position itself ahead of other green certifications. Moreover, it suggests a business approach encouraging companies to address environmental issues in their supply chains and day-to-day operations.

The green scoring model, developed by Acredius and EHL, serves an essential purpose. Specifically, it helps analyse and examine all relevant information about a company’s services, products, activities, and decision-making processes. Using artificial intelligence methodologies, the model adeptly generates a greenness assessment for hotels at the first level. Subsequently, it extends this capability to assess various companies at the second level. This assessment, consequently, serves as a reference or a starting point for adopting greener business behaviour.

The partnership between Acredius and EHL has three specific levels depending on the type of coordination that will be taking place.

Training level:

Collaborating with Acredius will reflect the real application of the EHL Student Business Project. Hence, the students cooperating with the Acredius team will be introduced to the marketplace lending concept and its applications in hotels and business management.

Business (Investment) level:

EHL is adopting alternative finance and has chosen Acredius’ lending platform for a crowdlending campaign on a hotel project. The project will follow ESG requirements and promote sustainability in hospitality, using a green scoring tool for reference.

Academic level: 

Acredius and EHL will collaborate on an academic paper. The document will discuss university partnerships, the business-academia relationship, and the significance of connecting data scientists with academic researchers.

Acredius’ Centre of Excellence will collaborate closely with EHL professors on in-depth research. In doing so, they aim to explore effective ways to leverage Artificial Intelligence for sustainability in business. The research will highlight how greener approaches can enhance lives and emphasise their role in safeguarding the environment and conserving resources. Additionally, the study will delve into organizations’ holistic approaches, examining ESG applications across various facets of corporate operations, from manufacturing to customer service.

About EHL

EHL (Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne) is an ambassador for traditional Swiss hospitality. It has inspired a unique professional community of over 25,000 hospitality managers united by EHL’s values and legacy.

EHL is the world’s first hotel management school. Established in 1893, it is a leading university providing learning solutions for students from 114 countries. EHL provides on-campus and online education opportunities, including undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, for students at different stages of their professional journey.

About Acredius

Acredius Group is a Swiss Fintech group with the mission to impact the real economy and become one of the future innovation leaders. Notably, Acredius provides an ecosystem supporting entrepreneurs and investors, assisting them throughout their journey. Specifically, it offers:

• An online marketplace lending platform that makes investors’ and borrowers’ needs meet in an unconventional, digital, intuitive, and safe environment
• A Private Equity Fundraising offer for promising startups and dynamic companies searching for equity investments.
• A Growth Strategy arm supports the company throughout its journey, covering pre-, during, and post-fundraising or credit obtainment.

Finally, the group features the “Acredius Tunisia Centre of Excellence” ATUCE. It is a new arm focused on Artificial Intelligence and data-driven decision-making. It aims to help international clients stay relevant in a customer-centric, insights-driven future.