This paper reports on an exploratory cross-sectional study of the value of an entrepreneurial learning exercise as a tool for examining the entrepreneurship dimension of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The study used grounded theory to analyse diaries kept by graduate (MBA) students during the ‘20 Nuevos Soles Project’. From the results of this analysis a number of propositions are developed for further research. The findings suggest that an entrepreneurial learning exercise can be useful in raising awareness of and reinforcing CSR-related competences. The project achieved a high level of student involvement and satisfaction, connecting acquired knowledge to real-world problem-solving. It is argued that the study has wider implications for managerial education which aims to go beyond the transmission of technical knowledge to allowing the development of competences in a bottom-up fashion. It also adds to research on the importance of new models of teaching management topics (specifically, corporate social responsibility) in emerging markets.