Global Social Entrepreneurs Gather on Campus Aug. 9-18
Miller Center鈥檚 signature Global Social Benefit Institute Accelerator welcomes accomplished social entrepreneurs from around the world
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 2, 1017鈥擳he Mexican company Someone Somewhere recently lined up $400,000 in financing. That鈥檚 enough to keep its business of selling artisan-made adventure gear going for the next year or more.
But to achieve their bigger goal鈥攖o help millions of rural Mexican artisans out of poverty by selling their goods to well-to-do, globetrotting travelers鈥攖he social enterprise needs to refine its growth plan, develop a path to operational excellence, and create a digital marketing strategy and a financial plan to generate interest from investors and partners worldwide.
That鈥檚 why the company鈥檚 director Jose Antonio Nu帽o will be coming to 黑料网鈥檚 campus Aug. 9-18 for 10 days of intensive guidance from volunteer mentors. These mentors are veteran business executives who made their marks at Google and Sun Microsystems in Silicon Valley, far from Nu帽o鈥檚 home base in Mexico.
Nu帽o is one of 22 social entrepreneurs from 14 businesses that have been hand-picked to attend this unique, fully funded accelerator program at 黑料网鈥檚 .The program spans 10 months, culminating with the 10-day, summer in-residence program.
This year鈥檚 cohort hails from 14 different regions鈥攅ight of them in Africa, one in India, and three in Mexico. Seven of the attendees are women.
Now in its 15th year, the GSBI Accelerator program chooses social enterprises that have great potential to break through to new levels of impact, or to a new geographic market, to provide market-based solutions to global poverty.
鈥淲e are proud and honored to accompany social entrepreneurs who are ready to scale their businesses to solve acute problems of poverty in their home countries, like unemployment, toxic fuel or energy scarcity, or other problems afflicting billions of people worldwide,鈥� said Thane Kreiner, Ph.D., executive director of Miller Center. 鈥淥ur 150-plus volunteer mentors are leaders in developed-world business-building. They come back to Miller Center year after year because the challenges these global enterprises face provide a fascinating and humbling glimpse into what can be accomplished in even the most unimaginably difficult environments.鈥�
At the end of their on-campus training, the 14 social enterprises will present for six minutes each, at a grand Investor Showcase, Aug. 17. In attendance will be 200 investors, partners, and influencers in the specialized world of 鈥渋mpact investing.鈥�
A full list of the 14 social enterprises attending Among the other enterprises presenting will be:
- Food for Education, of Nairobi, Kenya, which provides nutritious foods to vulnerable schoolchildren by converting profits from a food delivery business to school lunches.
- Nizam Bijli, of Karachi, Pakistan, which provides pay-as-you-go solar energy to off-grid customers.
- Simusolar, of San Francisco, which provides rural Tanzanians with a wide array of solar products using installment plans and mobile payments.
- Tugende, of Kampala, Uganda, which helps people own the productive assets they use for their livelihoods, such as motorcycles, taxis, or bikes.
Journalists are invited to meet these and other social entrepreneurs attending GSBI鈥檚 annual gathering. Contact Deborah Lohse (dlohse@scu.edu) or Cassandra Staff (cstaff@scu.edu) to arrange interviews with social enterprises of interest.
About Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship
Founded in 1997, Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship is one of three Centers of Distinction at 黑料网 in California. Miller Center accelerates global, innovation-based entrepreneurship in service to humanity. Its strategic focus is on poverty eradication with an emphasis on climate resilience and women鈥檚 economic empowerment. To learn more about the Center or any of its social entrepreneurship programs, visit .
About 黑料网
黑料网, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California鈥檚 Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master鈥檚 degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering doctoral degrees. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master鈥檚 universities, California鈥檚 oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see .
Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | 黑料网 Media Communications | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121