20:55 | 15.12.2009
Santa Clara University’s Eighth Annual Global Social Benefit Incubator Competition Opens on Social Edge, January 4, 2010
The Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI™) run by Santa Clara
University’s Center for Science, Technology, and Society invites
innovative social entrepreneurs to apply to take their venture to the
next level with the help of Silicon Valley start-up veterans and Santa
Clara University faculty.
Now in its eighth year, the GSBI is a year-long capacity-building
program for leaders of social benefit enterprises. The signature event
is an intensive, two-week program on Santa Clara’s campus, but
participating social entrepreneurs collaborate for months before and
after the event with a network of educators, professionals, peers, and
mentors.
The GSBI application process starts January 4 on Social Edge, an online
community for social entrepreneurs and a program of the Skoll
Foundation. Information on the application process is available now at www.socialedge.org.
Up to 20 winning applicants who best demonstrate a sustainable and
scalable approach to addressing urgent human needs throughout the world
will each receive a full scholarship valued at $25,000 for the GSBI
program, taking place August 14–28, 2010.
“Through access to world-class resources, GSBI participants are able to
accelerate their innovations,” says Jim Koch, professor of management at
Santa Clara University and co-founder and director of GSBI. “This is a
transformational program for people with the power and vision to change
the world.”
In the past, GSBI participants have come from dozens of countries
including India, Namibia, Bangladesh, Jordan, Laos, South Africa, and
Vanuatu. In addition to intensive coursework and mentoring focused on
venture planning, beneficiary analysis, business models, metrics and
successful scaling strategies, attendees benefit from the cross-cultural
community of support they get at GSBI.
Special Emphasis on Energy Providers in
2010
This year, the GSBI will reserve up to one-third of its spaces for
enterprises that aim to provide clean energy or electricity to the
underserved in developing countries — those who are off the grid or
suffer frequent disruptions in their energy supply.
“Access to reliable energy is the pivotal enabling factor for economic
growth in many communities around the world,” says Koch. “Thus, our 2010
GSBI sector strategy seeks to discover and support the scaling-up of
clean energy solutions — from devices to environmentally sustainable
sources of energy — that can serve individuals, enterprises or
communities.”
Benefits to All Applicants
All who apply to the GSBI participate in three “business planning
exercises” and can benefit from mentoring and feedback on them.
“Applicants receive advice on their value proposition, target market and
business model,” says Victor d’Allant, executive director of Social
Edge. “This interaction helps them convey their story in a more
compelling way and helps them clarify their impact and strategy for
scaling their ventures.”
First Deadline is January 15, 2010
Beginning Dec. 15, social entrepreneurs may visit http://www.socialedge.org/features/gsbi
to preview the application exercises for GSBI 2010. Applicants may
prepare the business planning exercises now and post them online
starting Jan. 4. There is no application fee and the deadline for the
first exercise is January 15, 2010.
The scholarships for winning applicants will cover tuition, room, and
board for the two-week intensive immersion program. Selected
participants are responsible for their travel expenses. The winners will
be announced no later than April 3, 2010.
About the Global Social Benefit Incubator
The Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI™) combines four months of
online preparation with an intensive two-week residential program at
Santa Clara University and several months of remote mentoring and
support using the Social Enterprise Innovation Network (SEIN). The GSBI
program enables successful social benefit entrepreneurs, who have
demonstrated their commitment to applying technology to address urgent
human needs throughout the world, to scale their endeavors and achieve
sustainability. The GSBI combines classroom instruction, case studies,
and best practices with carefully matched mentoring on the specific
challenges of each participating organization. Presented by the
University’s Center for Science, Technology, and Society and the Leavey
School of Business, the GSBI offers the unique context of a Jesuit
university dedicated to social justice combined with leading executive
resources of Silicon Valley. More information is available at www.scu.edu/sts/gsbi/.
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university
located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley,
offers its 8,846 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and
sciences, business, and engineering, plus masters and law degrees, and
engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest
graduation rates among all U.S. masters universities, California’s
oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates
faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more
information, see www.scu.edu.
About Social Edge
Headquartered in California’s Silicon Valley, Social Edge is the global
online community where social entrepreneurs and other practitioners of
the social benefit sector connect to network, learn, inspire, and share
resources. It provides expert content for guidance, videos and podcasts
for inspiration, and discussions and other resources written by those in
the field of social entrepreneurship. Features include blogs by social
entrepreneurs sharing how they are building their social ventures and
discussions on vital topics led by experts in social entrepreneurship.
Social Edge is a program of the Skoll Foundation, www.skollfoundation.org,
which was founded in 1999 by eBay’s first president, Jeff Skoll, to
advance systemic change to benefit communities around the world by
investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs. More
information is available at www.socialedge.org.
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