27/03/2014
The Sabancı University Entrepreneurship Council (SUGK) prepares to start the Social Investment Program with the support of the JP Morgan Chase Foundation.
The Social Investment Program will bring together social entrepreneurs who want to receive investment, and funding sources that wish to provide funding to social entrepreneurs.
The program was introduced at a meeting. Taking part in the meeting were Sabancı University School of Management Dean Füsun Ülengin and JP Morgan’s General Manager of Turkey, Emre Derman.
Details were given about Social Entrepreneurship and Social Investment in Turkey, and the new program was introduced by Entrepreneurship Council Academic Director Dilek Çetindamar, Director Kutlu Kazancı, and Social Investment Program Director Anja Koenig.
Speaking at the event, Füsun Ülengin said: "Since its establishment in 1999, Sabancı University has been in support of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. We are also doing more and more to support social entrepreneurs as they gain significance in the society. The Social Entrepreneurship Conference, organized by INSEAD in various countries around the world, was held at Sabancı University in 2010. We have been offering social entrepreneurship courses at the School of Management for three years. In 2013, we started a one-week training and certification program called Social Entrepreneur Development Program for 20 social entrepreneurs. Based on these, Sabancı University developed the Social Investment Program we discuss today in association with JP Morgan Chase Global Philanthropy to support social entrepreneurs and social investors in finding investors and acquiring funding."
Emre Derman said the following: “The JP Morgan Chase Foundation is proud of its partnership with Sabancı University for the Social Investment Program. Entrepreneurship helps to level the field for market players and provides new and significant opportunities for individuals. These opportunities are particularly important for social investors who identify unmet social needs and develop innovative solutions for these, considering cost effectiveness and ethical aspects. We are excited to be part of a program that will help to create more employment in the future and develop innovative ways to respond to social needs."
Reasons for the Social Investment Program
Although Turkey has had considerable economic progress in the recent years, there are significant social and environmental issues in education, gender equality, employment, natural conservation and social peace. A growing number of social entrepreneurs strive to come up with solutions to some of these issues. Social entrepreneurs are positioned to find solutions to issues which the civil society and the government were unable to resolve on their own, and seek to develop the workforce by providing employment opportunities to disadvantaged groups.
However, a sustainable ecosystem that will support the aspirations of social entrepreneurs with adequate social investment capital is yet to be established. In addition, a lack of awareness, experience and skills in both social entrepreneurs and potential investors cause difficulties in aligning social impact with entrepreneurial business models and investment strategies.
Sabancı University Entrepreneurship Council developed the Social Investment Program with funding by the JP Morgan Chase Foundation to support current and potential social investors and entrepreneurs on these subjects. The program is aimed towards current and future entrepreneurs, professional investors, philanthropists, business angels, board members and employees of foundations, companies, financial institutions and government authorities who make social and environmental impact an essential element of their business plans.
Objectives of the Program
- Increase the awareness of potential investors and funding providers on the opportunities offered by investing in social impact, providing high-quality training in enterprise philanthropy and social investment strategies customized for the Turkish market
- Help social investors create a sustainable business model for social impact; show ways for repayable investments that they need to improve their strategies and grow their enterprise
- Nurture the social entrepreneurship ecosystem, increase public awareness of social investment, and help social entrepreneurs and investors to build a network
Who can join?
The program is open to professionals in different areas of interest and experience:
- For-profit and not-for-profit social entrepreneurs ready to take their business to the next level, actively looking for social investment opportunities in Turkey and abroad
- Philanthropists seeking ways to increase the impact of their social efforts
- Representatives of philanthropist organizations aiming to put greater weight on entrepreneur philanthropy and develop a new donation strategy
- Finance and investment professionals wishing to expand into new markets or develop new products or social investment instruments
- Angel investors who wish to invest in social impact as well as financial returns
- Directors of development financial institutions, research companies and government institutions, and industry advisors who wish to have more authority in the area
- All professionals who are drawn to the idea of merging social motives with commercial principles, and explore career or business idea opportunities in this field
