Social Entrepreneurship: Models for Intervention in Global Poverty

The term social entrepreneurship refers to an approach to creating sustainable and scalable social change. This seminar will define and explore social entrepreneurship as a field. It is not a course on how to become a social entrepreneur or how to build a social enterprise. Rather, we will examine theory, promise and practice in an emerging and dynamic field. What is the potential of social entrepreneurship as a catalyst for social change? What are the barriers, limits and constraints to achieving sustainable social impact? Focusing on global poverty gives us a context to look at social entrepreneurship as one approach to addressing complex and systemic problems. Issues and controversy are part of the terrain; for example, microcredit as a sustainable strategy for poverty alleviation and women’s empowerment or path toward deeper indebtedness of the poorest or the poor; market - based interventions to reach new consumers versus distribution of government or NGO aid to the most vulnerable populations; continuum of subsidy, sustainability and profit maximization. In addition to readings and other resources.