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Benjamin Parent (SKEMA 2012), an alumnus on the road worldwide
A 2012 graduate of SKEMA Business School, Benjamin Parent left Sophia Antipolis in September 2023 to embark on Trees On The Way, a journey of several thousand kilometres by bike – and beyond – across dozens of countries. His ambition: to meet social entrepreneurs, share their stories, and, on his return to France, plant more than a thousand trees — one for every 21 kilometres travelled — in a deforested area of the country.
When he picks up the phone, Benjamin Parent is 10,000 kilometres from France, in Bangkok. For the past two years (including time off for a knee injury), the SKEMA alumnus has been cycling across Europe and Asia on his way to Japan.
The aim of the journey: to meet social entrepreneurs in almost every country he crosses. “So far, I’ve already met around twenty entrepreneurs,” he says. Like a modern-day Michel Strogoff (the hero of Jules Verne’s adventure novel), he presses on, come what may, despite setbacks and obstacles.
“I’ve always been passionate about entrepreneurship and mobility”
Setting off with his bicycle as his only companion, he charts his route through volunteering, encounters, and episodes that could have been lifted from a novel – like in Turkey, when he had to ward off a hungry bear by abandoning the food in his backpack near a volcano.
A life already rich in experience
Before embarking on this odyssey, Benjamin had already lived several lives. A graduate of SKEMA’s Master in Management (PGE), he first spent four years working at Tesla, including two in Dubai, before taking to the sea.
As captain of 18-metre sailing yachts, he spent a year at sea to save money and prepare his project. “I’ve always been passionate about entrepreneurship and mobility. Before Tesla, I worked with classic cars and travelled around Australia in a 4x4,” he recalls.
In September 2023, he set off from the Sophia Antipolis campus with SKEMA’s support, on a project built around three pillars: a low-carbon sporting challenge (travelling the world by bike), a research initiative focused on social entrepreneurship (meeting and documenting ventures), and the writing of a book to share the experience.
Encounters that leave their mark
Since his departure, he has already cycled thousands of kilometres and spent seven months in India. “I hadn’t planned to stay that long, but the country is huge and not the easiest to cross. While there, I met ten entrepreneurs,” he remembers. After Thailand, his path will take him through Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam. “In each country I travel through, I also try to get involved in voluntary work, to strengthen ties with local communities,” he adds.
A clear goal
His target is now set: to reach Japan within the next six months, passing through China – with a symbolic stop at SKEMA’s Suzhou campus – and then South Korea. On his return to France, the journey will take on a tangible form with the planting of 2,500 trees in a deforested area, a gesture of restitution that will close this global journey with local action.
You can support Benjamin Parent’s adventure by contributing to his online fundraising campaign.
