SIFE students leverage their classroom experience, the expertise of their faculty advisor and business advisory board, and the resources of their university to develop projects that empower people to live better lives.

Rather than mandating a uniform set of projects, SIFE teams are encouraged to address a variety of topics and issues, their primary focus being on effectively empowering people in need by applying business and economic concepts and an entrepreneurial approach to improve their quality of life and standard of living. Because of this approach, SIFE teams around the world are helping aspiring entrepreneurs achieve success, equipping the unemployed with skills to find productive employment, teaching families how to gain financial security, and bringing economic development to struggling neighborhoods.

The result is a program that is global in scope and purpose with the flexibility and responsiveness of a community-based organization.

Read actual SIFE team project stories from the field.

The culmination of the SIFE program is an annual series of competitions that provide a forum for teams to present the results of their projects, and to be evaluated by business leaders serving as judges. Teams compete first at the regional and national levels, then at the international level when the national champion teams from each country meet at the SIFE World Cup.

When all is said and done, SIFE teams' projects benefit the students as much as communities they serve, and a healthy spirit of competition helps focus students’ talents and builds a culture of excellence.