Global Soc. Entrp. and Innov

1.5 Credits · Level: Graduate

Across the globe, social enterprises and social entrepreneurs can be powerful creators of prosperity, innovation, and solutions to change. They can not only boost economic development but also promote social capital, equity, and community development. However, social enterprises present a unique challenge for development practitioners: while there is a strong desire to promote them, it is difficult to quantify the precise ways in which they affect development. The course is intended to provide a thorough understanding of the role of social enterprises and social entrepreneurs in poverty alleviation and in promoting sustainable growth in developing countries and emerging markets, and an introduction to both approaches and actors in the field. It will include analysis of social enterprises as units, and social entrepreneurs as leaders and change agents, through exploration of the system and networks of global social enterprises, examination of leading social enterprises, and direct engagement and case study development with individual social entrepreneurs and their enterprises.