The Grameen Creative Lab@NUS
The NUS Entrepreneurship Centre (NEC) is proud to be a supporting partner for the Impact Forum 2012. This is a 2-day global conference that examines the latest developments in impact investing and social enterprises, and will bring together representatives from social enterprises, investors/financial institutions, academia, governments and NGOs. We warmly invite you to be part of this global conference from the 25th-26th of June, 2012. Please refer to the e-flyer below for more information.
Thank you all who joined us for Social Business Week 2012!
Social Business Week 2012 saw over 1000 social entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, social venture investors, academia, youth, government representatives and civil society come together to learn, share and explore how social business can be a tool to tackle global social problems. A highlight of the week was the active participation of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus.
The Social Business Boot Camp was the kick-off event of the week, with more than 60 international participants, which included current or aspiring social entrepreneurs, facilitators, mentors and judges. The Boot Camp was designed for social entrepreneurs to provide them with hands-on training to refine and develop their existing social ventures or business ideas to create more sustainable and scalable businesses. Teams had the opportunity to pitch to a panel of esteemed judges which included Prof Yunus, and 5 teams were selected to for a follow-up Q&A, where they received valuable feedback and suggestions from the judges. Teams left the Boot Camp with valuable contacts and a fresh perspective on their business plan. You can read an account of a Boot Camp participant here.
Next up was the Social Business Forum for Corporate Leaders, bringing together a panel with the likes of Prof Yunus, and corporate leaders from Maitake Yukiguni, Unilever and Philips Securities to present and discuss how corporations can partner and create social businesses to solve problems at the Bottom of the Pyramid. The event culminated with pitching by selected social businesses incubated by GCL@NUS and a business showcase of supported social ventures during the networking lunch.
Prof Yunus also gave two public lectures- the first was at the Raffles Institution targeted at youths, exhorting them to make change, as they are the most powerful generation in light of the current technological advances. The second lecture was held at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, where Prof Yunus shared with policy makers and civil society what can be done to create a supportive environment for social businesses.
Special thanks for our supporting partners for SBW2012: The Grameen Creative Lab, Asia Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy, Raffles Institution, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Family Business Network Asia and the BOP Hub.
Watch the recordings of the public lectures here: