Miller Center Launches "Social Entrepreneurship at the Margins" Program
For the first time, up to 20 global social enterprises serving migrants, refugees, and human-trafficking survivors will receive training through Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship’s 15-year-old accelerator program.
SANTA CLARA, Calif, Feb. 6, 2018—Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship is launching a special Global Social Benefit Institute (GSBI®) Online accelerator program focused on boosting the business skills, investment readiness, and social impact of organizations that serve migrants, refugees, and human-trafficking survivors.
The new seven-month Social Entrepreneurship at the Margins (SEM) accelerator will draw on Miller Center’s 15 years of experience successfully preparing social enterprises for investment and growth. The program will culminate in an Oct. 23 Investor Showcase in the San Francisco Bay Area, affording participants an opportunity to meet investors at the influential annual SOCAP (social capital) meeting.
Globally, there are 22.5 million refugees, 65.6 million people who have been forcibly displaced from their homes, and a record 244 million migrants, according to the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees. Estimates of the number of modern-day slaves range from 21 million to 46 million.
Social enterprises selected to participate in the SEM accelerator will benefit from the proven GSBI Online accelerator curriculum, Silicon Valley mentors who accompany them and serve as trusted advisers, and the collective wisdom gained from accelerating over 800 social enterprises in 65 countries.
“At its core, the Social Entrepreneurship at the Margins accelerator is about recognizing and restoring the dignity each human being deserves. Instead of drawing boundaries and building walls, Miller Center will lead the charge in distinguishing SCU as a stalwart ally for some of the most marginalized and victimized peoples in our world,” said Santa Clara University President Michael E. Engh, S.J. “This is entrepreneurship for humanity, and I am heartened by the potential for helping migrants, aiding refugees, and curbing human trafficking.”
The cohort will be limited to 20 participants; as with all Miller Center accelerator programs, social enterprises are not charged to participate.
“We envision a world where all people are architects of their own futures. Poverty, climate change, and violence have led to unprecedented number of refugees, migrants, and human trafficking victims,” said Thane Kreiner, Ph.D., executive director of Miller Center. “In the Jesuit tradition, we seek to accelerate innovative and entrepreneurial solutions that restore dignity to the most vulnerable among us.”
Interested social entrepreneurs should apply before the March 16 deadline at http://www.scu.edu/millercenter/sem. Impact investors interested in social enterprises focused on migrants, refugees, and human-trafficking survivors can contact Mark Correnti, director of impact investing at Miller Center at mcorrenti@scu.edu.
About Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship
Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship is the largest and most successful social enterprise accelerator in the world. Founded in 1997, Miller Center is one of three Centers of Distinction at Santa Clara University and is located in the heart of the world’s most entrepreneurial ecosystem. We leverage the entrepreneurial spirit and innovative ethos of Silicon Valley and underpin it with the Jesuit heritage of service to the poor and protection of the planet. To learn more about the Center or any of its social entrepreneurship programs, visit www.scu.edu/MillerCenter.
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 more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry and theology; and law and engineering doctoral degrees. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice.For more information, see www.scu.edu.
Media Contacts
Rhonda Brauer | RBrauer Consulting for Miller Center | Rhonda@RBrauerconsult.com | (213) 300-2717
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Communications | dlohse@scu.edu | (408) 554-5121