Introduction to the course

Welcome! My name is Sara. I’m one of the lead educators for this course. I’m very excited to welcome you all to

Social Innovation: Global Sol- utions for a Sustainable Future. I’m the co-founder of Minca Ventures Ltd, a social enterprise company that supports social innovation initiatives around the world. Social innovations are new practices that aim to meet social needs in a better way than the existing solutions. I’ve been working in the sector for more than fifteen years as a researcher and consultant supporting more than 300 projects across the globe. I believe that individuals’ passions are determined by personal experiences. So, whether you already have an idea for developing a social innovation project or you just have an interest in how social innovations emerged this course is for you. Hello! My name is Rashvin.

I’m really excited to be one of your educators on this course. I started my career in the corporate world. And then, took that leap of faith to set up two of our social enterprises called Biji-Biji Initiative and Me.reka which I lead till today. Now, I’m going to share with you some tips on how you can make the best out of this course. My advice is to get right into it from the very beginning. Each week you are going to be presented with different information to read different videos to watch and different activities to take part in. You will also be encouraged to take part in different discussions. with your fellow tutors and your fellow learners.

Your ideas, experiences and your personal learning journey is a really important part of this. I hope you will, and I know you will enjoy being a part of this. Hi! My name is Zoe. I started my career in Malaysia by first founding Biji-Biji Initiative and then, later, Me.reka. I spent six years building up these social enterprises. Now I’m a Digital Innovation Specialist with the United Nations Capital Development Fund.

As part of this course we have built in a competition: An international Social Innovation challenge to select and support the very best examples of learners turning their social enterprise idea into action The winner will receive free coaching sessions from our experts. Enjoy the course! Hello! My name is Andres. I’m the co-founder of Minca Ventures Ltd. Our aim is to provide you with the practical tips and tools to help you learn what is Social Innovation and how to develop a Social Innovation project. In week one, we will start with the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals, the concept of Social Innovation, and the differences between these concepts

and other key terms, such as: Social Enterpreneurship, Social Business, and Social Economy.

In week two, we will work with: what social problem is your idea trying to solve? and, how do your customers or beneficiaries understand the problem? In week three, we will look at the process of taking your idea into reality. We will look at the different sources of finance and marketing tools. Enjoy the course!