Dr. Teresa Chahine is a social entrepreneurship expert and professor at Yale University. During this episode, Dr. Chahine shares her journey into social entrepreneurship and the work she’s been doing with students over the years. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the root causes of social and environmental challenges and talking to those affected by them. Dr. Chahine believes that social entrepreneurship is a tool that can be used to activate people’s sense of agency and challenge the status quo, a critical step toward creating social change.
Dr. Chahine’s journey into social entrepreneurship began in her home country of Lebanon where she worked on a project with the United Nations Population Fund. Despite working in the social sector, she felt that her work wasn’t impactful enough. It wasn’t until she started reading books on social entrepreneurship that she realized there was a different way of doing things. She learned that some of the old ways of doing things were not as effective as they could be and that new ideas were needed.
Dr. Chahine’s course on social entrepreneurship is designed to help aspiring social entrepreneurs develop potential solutions, build a business model, and measure outcomes to further that impact. The course is a practical skill-based way for students to learn about social entrepreneurship. It helps students choose a topic, research it, and understand the root causes of the problem. Students then spend time talking to those affected by the problem and those working on it. They generate ideas and screen them for desirability, feasibility, viability, and potential for social change.
Dr. Chahine’s new book, “Social Entrepreneurship Building Impact Step by Step,” is a framework for budding social entrepreneurs to develop potential solutions, build a business model, and measure outcomes to further impact. The book inspired her to create a free online course on Coursera, which is set to release in the next few months. The course will be available to anyone with an internet connection and will be a safe space for students to learn about social entrepreneurship and how to activate their sense of agency.
Dr. Chahine believes that social entrepreneurship is a tool that can be used to activate people’s sense of agency and challenge the status quo. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the root causes of social and environmental challenges and talking to those affected by them. Her work with students has shown her that most people, whether they are generational refugees or Ivy League MBAs, want to contribute to social change, but they don’t realize their own sense of agency. Dr. Chahine believes that by learning about and practicing social entrepreneurship, people can figure out their own unique pathway to contributing to social change.
In conclusion, Dr. Chahine’s work on social entrepreneurship is inspiring and impactful. She’s helping students understand the importance of activating their sense of agency and challenging the status quo. Her course and book are practical tools that can help aspiring social entrepreneurs develop potential solutions, build a business model, and measure outcomes to further impact. She’s making social entrepreneurship accessible to everyone and creating a world where more people can contribute to social change.
For Further Reading and Resources:
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The new book, “Social Entrepreneurship, Building Impact Step by Step”
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~ Link to Coursera.org course coming soon ~
Books mentioned:
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The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs
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Creating a World Without Poverty by Creating a World Without Poverty by Muhammad Yunus
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Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz