Overview

Our November 2009 social entrepreneurship journey will immerse participants in a once-in-a-lifetime 10-day experience in India.

Joining a select group of senior leaders from some of the world’s top private, public and civil society organisations, participants will get first-hand lessons in innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership from some of Kolkata and Hyderabad’s leading social entrepreneurs. The journey will include interactive site visits, discussion around local and national issues, and personal and group reflection time.
 

Provisional highlights

• A visit to the India headquarters of Acumen Fund, one of the world's leading social venture funds (www.acumenfund.org) and one of the social enterprises they have invested in, Life Spring Hospitals (www.lifespringhospitals.com)
   
• A visit to SKS Microfinance, founded by Vikram Akula. Vikram is recognised by Time Magazine as one of today's 100 most influential people. (www.sksindia.com)
   
• A visit to the India headquarters and field projects of Vision Spring (www.visionspring.org), formerly Scojo Foundation, which provides reading glasses to tens of thousands of India's poor. Vision Spring is one of the leading microfranchise models in the world, a Skoll Award Winner and multi-year winner of Fast Company's Social Capitalist Award.
   
• Time with a number of leading Ashoka fellows in India as well as a number of other grassroots social entrepreneurs and innovators 
   
• An experience of two diverse cities and states in India - Kolkata in West Bengal and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh
   
• Participation in the fourth annual International Conference on Social Entrepreneurship, which will be held at the Indian School of Business, one of world's top business schools (www.isb.edu)

Participants

We will be selecting approximately 15 leaders to take part in the experience. Previous participants have included senior leaders in the private, public and civil society sectors, social entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs, policy makers, philanthropists and academics.

What you can take away from the experience

• New insights on innovation, leadership and entrepreneurship
• Inspiration and space for personal growth and renewal
• Fresh perspectives on your current work
• Actionable ideas and new business models
• High-value relationships with senior leaders from a broad range of organisations, across multiple sectors
• A unique view into India’s culture and a greater understanding of its role as an increasingly powerful global player

How to apply

Places are strictly limited, so we strongly recommend registering your interest early to avoid disappointment. Please click the button below to do so.