Entrepreneurship – Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity

August 13, 2021February 16, 2022

Paul Westbrook, Hunt Institute Fellow

Paul Westbrook is a recognized leader and speaker in efficiency, solar energy, and whole-system integrative design across the spectrum from residential projects to large industrial facilities. He brings this wealth of expertise to the Hunt Institute as a Fellow.

Paul currently serves on the board of Kijiji Innovative Sustainable Solutions (KISS). Founded by Hunt Institute Social Entrepreneur Clara Ford, the organization’s mission is to reduce rural poverty by promoting sustainable development in Tanzania’s rural communities through education, community activism, sustainable initiatives, and youth and women empowerment. Together with Hunt Institute Fellow Dr. Jessie Zarazaga, Clara continues to work with the Hunt Institute’s Global Development Lab on the Kijiji Project, including the completion of Phase I and the Spring 2021 Innovative Sustainable Solutions Design Competition where Paul served as a judge helping to narrow down the final winners.

In 1996, Paul designed his own North Texas solar home, which won the NAHB Energy Value Housing Award for Innovative Design. The house utilizes passive and active solar design and still ranks as one of the most efficient homes in Texas; it has been on the annual national tour of solar homes since 1996. Extensive water efficiency and rainwater collection led to Paul being named a Water Genius by the North Texas Municipal Water District in 2009.

Paul has over 33 years of design and operational experience with large, complex manufacturing facilities. He led the effort at Texas Instruments (TI) to design and build the first sustainable, LEED Gold Certified semiconductor manufacturing facility (“fab”) in the world. The 1.1 million square foot facility in Richardson, Texas, is over 40% more energy efficient and cost 30% less to build than the previous fab. Paul was also the LEED Accredited Professional (AP) for two TI manufacturing facilities in the Philippines, including the first LEED Gold building of any type in that country.

As Sustainable Development Manager at TI, he led the effort to improve the energy and water efficiency of TI’s 20 million square feet of existing global facilities – doubling the company’s energy and water efficiency in less than 10 years. Paul has also worked with the International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative teams on industry-wide efficiency improvements and on green design standards.

In 2012, Paul was named a Senior Fellow for the US State Department’s Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) program. He visited Honduras, Bolivia, Columbia, and Peru, where he worked with governments, universities, and industry on efficiency and renewable energy. After retiring from TI, Paul started his consulting business, RE:source. The RE stands for Radical Efficiency. But it also stands for Resource Efficiency, Renewable Energy, REsilience, and REimagine. His book The Joy of Efficiency covers resource efficiency and integrative design. His research can be reviewed on his website titled Westbrook House where he provides links to learn about passive and active solar.

Paul received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University in 1982. Paul is president and a saxophone player for the nonprofit Texins Jazz Band – a full big band established in 1986. He is also an accomplished track & field sprinter. He led the TI Team to 12 consecutive national corporate track titles as captain and was inducted into the United States Corporate Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.

When asked what motivates him to do impact work, Paul’s response is, “I’ve worked on many interesting projects that achieved radical efficiency and sustainability improvements. That experience and knowledge has value in many areas, and I’m happy to share.”

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

April 14, 2021June 17, 2021

2021 SMU Giving Day: The Power of One Person’s Vision

Mohammed Njie envisions a future in which all of Africa has access to reliable, affordable, clean energy in his lifetime. Since his first day at the Hunt Institute, he has been working to make this vision a reality, starting with his home country of The Gambia. Mohammed developed a plan with the help of the Hunt Institute team. During that process, Mohammed founded Janta Energy, a social enterprise, with the goal of bringing clean, reliable energy to The Gambia. Like all great ideas, he needed a pilot project to test his hypothesis that rural schools could be fully functional with solar panels because the majority of their meeting time is during daylight hours. The pilot has the panels connected to batteries for evening classroom access. The long-term goal is to include fuel cells when the technology advances enough to offer an affordable option.

After securing permission from the Minister of Energy for The Gambia and local leadership in Tintinto, the team installed the technology needed to illuminate 50% of Tintinto Primary and Secondary School. During Janta’s pilot project, the team was able to pull data from the school’s energy use and excess, evaluating capacity in planning what should be installed to complete the project. After a year of use, based on the findings, the technology has proven that it will be a viable solution going forward.

In the spring semester of 2021, the student employees’ goal was to raise the remaining money needed to finish the pilot; they called it the “Illuminating Tintinto” project and submitted it to the SMU Giving Day roster. Through their hard work, they spread the word to generous donors who donated to complete the project. Now 100% of the Tintinto Primary and Secondary School will be powered by solar panels. Access to electricity will make available an entirely new learning environment, providing tools for teachers to use to enhance the learning experience of students in Tintinto.

In response to the generous donations made to support his pilot project, Mohammed said, “This is amazing. We are one step closer to making the dreams and hopes of the students in Tintinto village a reality. Progress and sustainability are possible through education, and energy access makes education a limitless experience for students. I am very excited about the future of Tintinto village, its students, and its people.”

With the knowledge and experience gained through this process, Mohammed intends on scaling Janta. By replicating the same technology, he plans to continue using local resources and labor to outfit other schools, eventually expanding the idea for use in rural hospitals in his pursuit to bring clean energy to all of The Gambia.

We, the team at the Hunt Institute, would like to thank all the supporters supporting the group of student employees determined to help Illuminate Tintinto. We are excited to see the progress that Mohammed Njie is making and are proud of the student employees that embody our university motto, “World Changers Shaped Here.”

Many of our supporters have long been by our side, some are new friends, and still, others are our very own SMU Alumni that worked in the Institute and returned to once again aid in our impact. Thank you!

April 13, 2021February 10, 2022

Illuminating Tintinto | Hunt Institute’s Project for SMU Giving Day 2021

Today is SMU Giving Day – the one day of the year for all Mustangs to come together in support of the SMU causes and students we care about most. Giving day is not about how much we each give, it’s about the impact we can make as a collective. The more Mustangs who give, the more positive change we can create. Donations received are put into a matching program, making all donations even more impactful and appreciated.

For this year’s SMU Giving Day, the Hunt Institute is featuring a Global Development Lab project that is installing solar panels for Tintinto Primary & Secondary School, a school in a remote village in West Africa. The beginning of this pilot proved to be successful and we will be continuing the development of this project. Principal Amadou Kinteh, teachers, parents, and students are pleased with having access to clean energy and are excited to see the completion of this project with the final section of the school illuminated by Summer 2021!

During COVID-19, school administrators reported that having access to electricity created the opportunity for teachers and students to work remotely by having access to charge their cell phones in rotations at the school during the pandemic lockdown. When the schools were able to re-open, the teachers hosted additional tutoring times for students after school to help bridge any gaps that occurred during their absence due to the pandemic. As a result, Principle Kinteh reported that his students excelled in their exams (equivalent to state exams in the USA). Watch him talk about their experiences in the above video.

Mohammed Njie is an SMU student and Hunt Institute Social Entrepreneur who founded Janta Energy to provide sustainable, clean, and reliable energy to The Gambia, a West African country where just 48% of people have limited access to electricity, leaving the remaining 52% with no access. Recently, he published a website for this initiative called JantaGM.com.

In December of 2019, the Tintinto Primary and Secondary School agreed to be a beta test site for Janta’s pilot project. In January of 2020, a team installed five 330-watt 24-volt solar panels, two 250-amp 12-volt solar batteries, and a 50-amp solar charge controller to power four classrooms and a staff room. The pilot was designed to test the panel’s effectiveness as a solution to bring electrical connections for lights, fans, and eventually computers. Although the entire school is not yet powered, Njie has a vision: “As a pilot project, we were limited to installing a [certain] amount of panels. We used those panels to provide 100% energy for half of the school. The idea was that after we did a successful pilot project, then we will install more panels to extend the power to the other side of the school.”

Join us as we prepare to finish installing the necessary panels to complete this project for the Tintinto Primary and Secondary School so that all teachers and students will have access to electricity in their classrooms.

Eventually, Janta will use this concept to build a micro-grid, with the school at the center, to help power the entire village. Looking ahead to the future, Janta Energy seeks to replicate the model used in Tintinto across other rural villages as well, eventually spanning the entirety of the country. You can help make a difference in the lives of Gambians by contributing to the Hunt Institute’s project for SMU Giving Day to finish this pilot project. All proceeds will go toward this project in The Gambia.

April 13, 2021 all day giving day #SMUDayOne resulted in meeting our goal.

Check back for updates as this project progresses!

The Hunt Institute and everyone in the Tintinto Primary & Secondary School appreciates your support for this Global Development Lab project.

February 5, 2021August 10, 2021

Kijiji Innovative Sustainable Solutions Design Competition

Kijiji Innovative Sustainable Solutions (K.I.S.S.), in partnership with SMU’s MASD Program, the Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity and three universities in Tanzania, has officially launched an architectural design competition for the building of the Rulegura Center.

The primary purpose of the Rulegura Center, which will be located in Kasisa Village in northern Tanzania, will be to provide a place for education and training in sustainable methods and practices in the areas of energy, construction, clean water, agriculture, aquaculture, sanitation and health. The Rulegura Center is at the heart of K.I.S.S.’s mission, to promote sustainable development in rural Tanzania and protect the country’s wildlife and natural resources. The center will also serve as a community space for gatherings and meetings.

17 teams comprised of 31 students from 3 universities in Tanzania: Ardhi University, University of Dar es Salaam, and Mbeya University of Science and Technology have entered the competition. Each student team will be drafting building plans for the Rulegura Center, which will then be judged by a panel of 4 jurors. Since the building itself will stand as a model for appropriate sustainable design in rural Tanzania, students are highly encouraged to incorporate local materials into their designs as well as ensure energy efficiency and sustainable maintenance.

It was important to Clara Ford, founder of K.I.S.S., to involve local students in crafting the building plans. “It is part of our mission to empower and encourage young folks to be aware that they have the ability to solve problems facing the local community. I hope through this project to inspire self-confidence and self-determination among the young generation in Tanzania,” Ford says.

The community involvement will continue throughout the entire process of building the Rulegura Center, as K.I.S.S. begins the process of educating and training citizens on how to construct efficient, durable, and resilient buildings. Creating sustainable and durable buildings is just 1 of 9 objectives that K.I.S.S. sets out to achieve. Ultimately, Ford’s goals for K.I.S.S. are to reduce cyclical poverty and empower the local people with technical skills to improve their quality of life.

“Our program is designed to source solutions from the people living there on the ground. We understand the local folks are much more aware with problems they face in their daily lives and our role to showcase how these solutions can be implemented effectively for efficiencies and sustainability. For this strategy to succeed it is crucial to involve these folks and the local communities we hope to impact.”

Stay tuned to the Hunt Institute Digest for updates on the Kijiji project and to find out the winning student team of the architectural design competition!

January 6, 2021February 28, 2022

2021 Social Enterprise Cohort

2021 Hunt Institute Social Enterprise Cohort of Intrapreneurs

Since the launch of the Social Enterprise Program in 2019, we had the opportunity to work with some amazing social entrepreneurs whose work is improving lives and livelihoods locally and around the world. This year’s cohort is no different. What is new, however, is that this cohort is dedicated to “social intrapreneurship”. This is a reflection of the challenging times we are experiencing and to highlight the unique role that social intrapreneurs can play in achieving scaled impact towards a climate-smart and inclusive economy.

From governments to leading think tanks and corporations, we have observed expressions of support and anticipation that social enterprises will play a critical role in rebuilding after the pandemic and steering our society towards a more sustainable and inclusive economy. However, the challenges faced by social entrepreneurs remain significant. The purpose of our program is to help understand these challenges, identify proven best practices to tackle them, and to empower the most promising social entrepreneurs in our community to put their ideas into action and maximize their impact.

There has been considerable attention on “intrapreneurship” in recent years. Intrapreneurship involves acting as an innovative entrepreneur but within the ecosystem of a larger, more traditional organization. These organizations can be private, public, or nonprofit; the concept of intrapreneurship is an important one across sectors. Intrapreneurship can bring together the best of both worlds: the innovation and dynamism of entrepreneurship and the resources and value chain of existing organizations. Social intrapreneurship is a more recent and somewhat lesser-known concept. Social intrapreneurship combines social entrepreneurship, the mindset of pursuing bold ideas and innovative solutions to address social and environmental problems, with intrapreneurship. As an example, M-Pesa is a successful social enterprise offering mobile-phone based money transfer and micro-financing services to over 40 million users in Africa, Asia, and Europe. A little-known fact is that M-Pesa is the product of social intrapreneurship; developed by two employees of Vodaphone and Safaricom from within their established companies. M-Pesa has been a driving force of economic empowerment and has had a significant impact on reducing poverty, especially among women.

I am pleased to announce the 2021 Cohort of the Social Enterprise Program: Pharr Andrews (City of Dallas), Dr. Candice Bledsoe (Action Research Center, Women of Color Collective, SMU), Julianna Bond (Slalom Consulting) and Matt Sheldon, (Toyota North America).

They are social intrapreneurs from across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors who are pursuing transformational ideas for a climate-smart & inclusive economy—the kind of innovators and leaders we desperately need to rebuild better.

Stay tuned to learn more about our social intrapreneurs’ initiatives and follow us on social media to get regular updates!

Eva Csaky, PhD MSF is the Executive Director of the Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity, the founder of the Social Enterprise Program, and the co-founder of the Inclusive Economy Consortium.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

December 15, 2020January 7, 2021

2020 Social Enterprise Cohort

Our 2020 Cohort took a journey none of us could have planned or expected. We celebrated as both Dr. Lynch and Jin-Ya advanced in their work, we moved forward as Mohammed Nijie’s work branched out into a new phase, and we expanded to add a new Social Entrepreneur, Clara Rulegura Ford. This cohort focused on clean energy and community development.

Below is a brief description of each social entrepreneur’s venture along with links to their work in order to read more and/or follow their progress in the future.

Janta Energy

Founder: Mohammed Njie

Njie completed his business plan, launched his website, and remotely worked on a pilot project in Tintinto, The Gambia. In January of 2020, a team installed five 330-watt 24-volt solar panels, two 250 amp 12-volt solar batteries, and a 50 amp solar charge controller to power four classrooms and a staff room. The pilot is designed to test the panel’s effectiveness as a solution to bring electrical connections for lights, fans, and eventually computers. All supplies and labor were sourced locally, supporting the local economy.

Njie continues to communicate with Principal Amadou Kinteh following the progress of the project. Innovation in Tintinto tells the story of teachers leveraging cell phones to design and implement distance learning for their students during the pandemic shutdowns. His goals for 2021 include raising the necessary funding to finish the project so the entire school is powered by solar panels. Njie explains, “As a pilot project, we were limited to installing a limited amount of panels. We used those panels to provide 100% energy for half of the school. The idea was that after we did a successful pilot project, then we will install more panels to extend the power to the other side of the school.”

Principal Kinteh talked about how the students were able to attend night classes due to the solar power stored in fuel cells helping students to catch up in their studies, “…we benefited from night classes, as children living near or in the village were assisted by the teachers during the night because electricity is now available and the place is quiet, so children would come and read and they would be assisted by the teachers. This has helped our students a lot. They performed extremely well in the grade 9 examinations.”

Kijiji Innovation Solutions

Founder: Clara Rulegura Ford

Clara Rulegura Ford. Ford is the Founder and CEO of Kijiji Innovative Sustainable Solutions (K.I.S.S.) and a Class of 2020 commitment maker with the Clinton Global Initiatives University (CGIU). Ford holds an MA in Sustainability and Development from the Lyle School of Engineering where she began fleshing out the design and plans for KISS as her capstone project. Phase I of the project was completed in the Summer semester of 2020. Partnering with the Hunt Institute Global Development Lab, the project produced a broader impact report titled Building Bridges to Build Connections. Ford soon became an obvious choice to include in the Social Enterprise program. She is finishing final touches on her overall strategy, has assembled an advisory board over the years, and launched a competition for the design of The Rulegura Centre, Kijiji ISS, Kasisa Tanzania.

Ford says, “Our vision is of a Tanzania that is aware of its role on environmental stewardship and takes development initiatives that are conscious of environmental impact on future generations. A Tanzania that remains as a paradise island with its wildlife protected and natural resources replenished in the course of its economic development.”

As we approach 2021, we look back on the great accomplishments of this cohort and prepare to continue accelerating their important work.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

October 12, 2020February 28, 2022

Celebrating the 2020 UN Day Global Leadership Award Recipient, Dr. Candice Bledsoe

Candice L. Bledsoe, PhD. as the recipient of the 2020 UN Day Global Leadership Award, in the category of Sustainable Development Goal 4, Quality Education.

The Hunt Institute proudly recognizes the accomplishment of Candice L. Bledsoe, PhD. as the recipient of the 2020 UN Day Global Leadership Award, in the category of Sustainable Development Goal 4, Quality Education. This prestigious award reflects the bold, transformative work Bledsoe has done to advance the United Nations goals for sustainable development, shifting the world onto a more resilient path through quality education. UNA-USA is the largest grassroots organization dedicated to educating, inspiring, and mobilizing Americans to support the principles and vital work of the United Nations. In celebration of UN Day each year, a network of 200 Chapters across the country host events to highlight the critical role played by the UN in today’s world – even in the most challenging of situations.

The Hunt Institute’s Global Development Lab supported the Action Research Center’s Young Social Innovators & Social Entrepreneurs Program by helping to develop a young entrepreneurial toolkit called Youth Up Next primarily focused on reaching high school age entrepreneurs seeking to be change agents for social good. Cambria Lewis, Hunt Institute undergraduate research analyst, worked on this project over the Summer 2020 semester. Lewis said, “What motivates me while working on this project with Dr. Bledsoe is amplifying young people’s voices and a platform to make changes in their communities and society. Shaping youths’ mindset and building their confidence regarding business building is critical. I am happy to be a part of this project and movement.” With the assistance of the Hunt Institute’s Social Enterprise program, during the 2020 – 2021 academic year, the Action Research Center will continue to provide virtual meetings to support Young Social Innovators & Young Social Entrepreneurs.

When reflecting on the connection of her work with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals she states, “The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. With innovation and community building we can make our world a better place.”

Bledsoe is a Faculty member at Simons School of Education & Human Development’s Graduate Liberal Studies Program, a professor at Cox School of Business, serves on the Leadership Council in the Inclusive Economy Consortium, and Fellow in the Hunt Institute. Bledsoe is the executive director of the Action Research Center, an organization designed to enhance equity in our communities. She is also the founder of the Collective, a group comprised of community leaders, writers, scholars, and entrepreneurs who share the stories of minoritized women in America.

To attend the 2020 UN Day Global Leadership virtual event on Saturday, October 24, register here.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn,Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu

September 16, 2020February 28, 2022

Clara Rulegura Ford, Social Enterprise 2021 Cohort Entrepreneur

Clara Rulegura Ford joined the Hunt Institute’s Social Enterprise Program as a social entrepreneur in the 2020 Cohort. Clara is the Founder and CEO of Kijiji Innovative Sustainable Solutions (K.I.S.S.)

With a lust for life and affinity towards advancing sustainable development, Clara Rulegura Ford, CEO of Kijiji Innovative Sustainable Solutions (K.I.S.S.), joined the Hunt Institute’s Social Enterprise 2021 Cohort as a Social Entrepreneur, with aspirations of encouraging sustained economic development.

A multifaceted individual, Clara Ford is an alumna of the Clinton Global Initiative University and has earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting as well as a dual master’s degree in Applied Economics and Sustainability & Development from SMU. She is currently a Senior Associate Examiner for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and has over 10 years of experience in commercial lending and the financial industry.

Clara grew up in Tanzania, and she aspires to generate real solutions to sustainability issues in order to inspire locals to be able to lift themselves out of poverty. From a young age, her parents had instilled in her the importance of public service and giving back. Given this inspiration, Clara founded her nonprofit organization — Kijiji Innovative Sustainable Solutions (K.I.S.S) — with her former economics professor at SMU, Dr. Thomas Osang. K.I.S.S aims to promote development in rural Tanzanian villages through education, community activism, sustainable initiatives, and youth and women empowerment. Plans to implement these initiatives are highlighted through her current project’s focus: the buildout of K.I.S.S. Training and Education Center in the village of Kasisa in northern Tanzania.

In the summer of 2020, Phase 1 of her Kijiji project was completed through a partnership with Hunt Institute Fellow Dr. Jessie Zarazaga and the Institute’s Global Development Lab. The focus was on the development of a sustainable fence for the community center she aspires to build in Kasisa.

Now, her project has turned to the center’s initiatives, to focus on the following nine training and education projects: sustainable and durable housing, energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean water access, toilet design & sanitation system, sustainable agriculture & aquaculture, garbage reduction & recycling, education & vocational training, and health care. Collectively, these development programs hope to reduce rural poverty and significantly improve the quality of life for local rural communities.

Her nonprofit’s logo “means ‘help me to help you’, a symbol of cooperation and interdependence,” says Clara Ford. “That’s what K.I.S.S. is all about. To bring about sustained economic development through cooperation and interdependence between us, our partners, and the communities we serve.”

In partnership with SMU’s Sustainability + Development Program (S + DP), the Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity, and three universities in Tanzania, Clara’s team launched an architectural competition for the design of the Rulegura Centre. Winners were announced over the summer months and the finalists were exhibited in the Hunt Institute in the spring of 2021. Most recently, an update of this competition was released in the fall of 2021.

Clara discussed her passion for her impact work saying, “I wouldn’t be here where I am today if not for all the people who have helped me along the way. The Kijiji Project is one of the ways for me to pay it forward. Along the way I realized it will take a diverse model that brings all stakeholders together, to work in symbiosis to better address problems that are unique to each locale. Through Kijiji Innovative Sustainable Solutions, we have a platform to do that. The partnerships we make with various institutions, NGOs, businesses and individual volunteers together with the communities we try to help make a ‘mastermind’ necessary to generate real solutions that will empower the locals in the long run to lift themselves out of poverty.”

Stay tuned to the Hunt Institute Digest for updates on the Kijiji project and for more examples of social entrepreneurs.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

July 20, 2020February 28, 2022

Sustainable Food Systems

The Hunt Institute’s Social Enterprise Program is a social enterprise incubator focused on developing and improving food systems in Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex and across the globe. According to Harvard School of Public Health, food system is defined as “all the elements and activities that relate to production, processing, distribution, preparation, and consumption of food.” So what does it mean to create a sustainable food system? The Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines a sustainable food system as one that “delivers food security and nutrition for all in such a way that the economic, social, and environmental bases to generate food security and nutrition for future generations are not compromised.”

In the article linked below from the International Monetary Fund, the authors share why now, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, it is even more crucial that we work as a society to rebuild our food systems in a sustainable way. More importantly, they argue, that now is the perfect time to do so as we simultaneously work to rebuild our economies. The article outlines four key components that must be in place for a sustainable food system to function: resilient food supply chains, healthy diets, regenerative farming, and conservation. Read the article to discover more about sustainable food systems.

To learn more about the Hunt Institute’s Social Enterprise Program, visit smu.edu/socialenterprise. For more case studies and examples, stay tuned to the Hunt Institute Digest.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

July 15, 2020September 17, 2020

What is Social Entrepreneurship?

Hunt Institute's Social Enterprise Program

In his article “The Meaning of Social Entrepreneurship”, Greg Dees, co-founder of Duke Fuqua’s Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE), defines social entrepreneurs as “change agents in the social sector”.

Furthermore, he outlines 5 characteristics that social entrepreneurs exhibit:

“Adopting a mission to create and sustain social value (not just private value),
Recognizing and relentlessly pursuing new opportunities to serve that mission,
Engaging in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation, and learning,
Acting boldly without being limited by resources currently in hand, and
Exhibiting a heightened sense of accountability to the constituencies served and for the outcomes created.”

The above elements often take the shape of a social enterprise, an organization that is pursuing a social or environmental mission using business methods. Social enterprises are catalytic innovators who produce disruptive innovations. These organizations are key to directly addressing social needs in under-resourced communities using entrepreneurial strategies. The objective of the Hunt Institute’s Social Enterprise Program (SEP) is to support innovative, early-stage social entrepreneurs in overcoming common obstacles and accelerating the societal impact of their social enterprises.

Social entrepreneurs can also act as change agents within large organizations, corporations, government or nonprofits. These social intrapreneurs pursue innovation, change, and impact within their ecosystem. As an example, Kazi Huque and Narayan Sundararajan, colleagues at Intel, partnered with Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank to create Grameen Intel Social Business LTD. Now branded as Technology for Social Impact, the organization exists to find affordable technological solutions to improve the lives of people in developing parts of the world.

The graphic featured in this post, from Suzanne Smith of Social Impact Architects, is helpful in distinguishing between the common terms used within the social impact space. Click here to read Suzanne’s blog to learn more. Stay tuned to the Hunt Institute Digest to learn more about our Social Enterprise, case studies of social entrepreneurs, and other examples.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.