Social Investment and Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Based on the premise that we are entering a sustainability age, this course examines the emerging field of social investment, and inquires into the role of entrepreneurship in its constitution and expansion. Achieving social and environmental sustainability on a crowded planet will be the main challenge of the twenty-first century. The human footprint has expanded dramatically over the 100,000 years that our species has been around. The global population has risen from around one million 10,000 years ago to 6.7 billion today and is projected to rise to between 7.8 billion and 10.8 billion by 2050. Our human footprint is bound to grow further. The global economy is expected to grow from USD 77 trillion at purchasing power parity in 2007 to USD 420 trillion in 2050 - provided the crisis facing humanity will not undercut rising living standards and convergence of economic development. Sociologist Anthony Giddens has pointed out that as a result of this expansion of population and associated activities, humanity today lives in an environment after the end of nature - that is, very few aspects of our surrounding material environment have not been affected in some way by human intervention, and as a result, humanity has little choice but to take on the role of active steward of the global ecosystem. Among other things, the expected expansion of the human footprint is likely to require a shift or adaptation in business models and investment styles. Global change has already impacted the spatial and thematic distribution of investment capital, driving more resources to emerging markets, and into business propositions broadly linked with a philosophy of good and doing well, that is, achieving both a positive social and/or environmental as well as a financial return. Rather than focusing on the more mainstream ethical funds, sustainable or publicly-listed responsible ventures (commonly aggregated under the umbrella term socially responsible investments or SRI), the course analyzes social business and investing, including the emerging concept of - defined as that generate social and environmental value as well as financial return, and are not restricted to in publicly listed companies. The course is divided in four parts. To be practical, it deploys several case studies. Part one provides the context, looking at social investment as an emerging social field, examining the concept of impact investing in detail. Part two examines the role entrepreneurs play in building the currently emerging social investment ecosystem. Part three defines and analyzes social entrepreneurship and impact investing case studies. Part four asks what the frontiers in social investment are, and where we are headed.