Free Online course
Commercialization of Social Enterprises:
Stemming the Tide of Mission Drift
Stemming the Tide of Mission Drift
5 February 2018
Find out how to avoid mission drift when transitioning a social enterprise or microfinance venture into a for-profit organisation.
Why join the course?
Many social enterprises are becoming more commercial, adopting the techniques, funding or governance more usually associated with for-profit ventures.
In this online course, we will shed new light on this trend. We will ask how commercialisation affects the management and operations of social enterprises, and which avenues could or should be used to avoid mission drift.
What topics will you cover?
- Why social entrepreneurs innovate
- Microfinance practices
- When a not-for-profit becomes a for-profit organisation
- Sources of financing and mission drift
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...
- Describe the context in which social innovations (such as microfinance) emerge by relying on empirical data regarding poverty and financial exclusion.
- Describe what happens when a non-profit organisation becomes a regulated for-profit company.
- Identify the managerial implications related to the shift of business model or to commercial sources of financing.
- Produce different strategies and practices to avoid mission drift in social enterprises.
- Identify the practical implications of the transformation from a non-profit organization to a for-profit company.
- Discuss the managerial implications related to the shift of business model or to commercial sources of financing.
- Identify what is specific to the commercialization of microfinance and what is common to all social enterprises.
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for students and practitioners in social enterprises or microfinance, and more generally everyone who wants to know more about social enterprises and microfinance.
Who will you learn with?
Marek Hudon is a Professor at the Solvay Brussels School (SBS-EM), Université Libre de Bruxelles. He is the founder of the European Microfinance Program (EMP) and the co-director of CERMi and CEESE.