COURSE INTRODUCTION
Social entrepreneurship uses business methods to address social and environmental problems, often in innovative ways. Venture philanthropy uses venture capital funding tools to promote start-up and growth of social ventures.
This course combines lectures, case studies, industry expert guest speakers and project work to involve students in social entrepreneurship and venture philanthropy with real social impact as a result. Student teams work with social enterprise partners to develop a growth plan and funding proposal for grant funding to be awarded to one of the social venture partner organizations at the end of the course. The course is multi-disciplinary and open to MBAs and other PG/UG programs.
Through the application of business principles and market-based funding practices, mission-driven businesses can bring transformational social and environmental benefits. Social entrepreneurship is catalytic by nature; requiring visionary and resourceful entrepreneurs to think out of the box and take calculated risks in creating new business practices, market norms and customer experiences. Venture philanthropy takes investment funding to a new, impact-driven level of accountability and results-orientation, with the ultimate aim of creating sustainable and scalable social businesses with confident and engaged stakeholders, who without such funding and other support, and would be deprived of developmental opportunities. Social entrepreneurship and venture philanthropy have been rapidly emerging around the world in recent years, not least in Hong Kong.
This course is targeted at students who are interested in the growing social, environmental and economic impact business opportunities in Hong Kong, the greater China region and globally.
CLASSES
