The Social Entrepreneurship Programme (SEP) is a middle management training programme, for people who want to make a difference. The course takes excellence in business thinking and applies it to the social development space.
The flagship programme of the GIBS Network for Social Entrepreneurs, the Social Entrepreneurship Programme (SEP), is designed to provide social changemakers and entrepreneurs with the skills, creative thinking and networks needed to tackle the complex social and economic realities of the communities within which they work. This comprehensive, year-long programme will equip you with the business skills needed to start or grow your organisation and maximise your impact. SEP blends world-class business expertise with the complexities of social change and is designed for leaders who wish to be more effective managers and visionaries. Classes have a reputation for passionate debate as theories, experience and the diverse worlds of entrepreneurs, NGOs, business and government meet. This programme is subject to the University of Pretoria’s accreditation and processes but is not yet accredited through SAQA. It is pitched at a National Qualifications Level 7.
Programme outline
Block 1: 16 – 21 February 2016 ALP Workshop: 02 or 06 April 2016
Block 2: 04- 08 May 2016
Block 3: 06- 10 July 2016
Block 4: 14- 18 September 2016 ALP Presentation: 12 or 16 November 2016
Exam: 3rd December 2016
There are 4 blocks for the year. Each block run for 5 days, Wednesday – Sunday, 08:30am – 05:30pm. Each block has 2 evening sessions that run from 6 – 8pm including dinner. These are usually held on Day 1 and 2 of each block. The first block runs for 6 days as the first day is orientation (8am – 5pm).
There are 3 other days you will be required to be on campus.
1 day - ALP workshop
1 day – ALP Presentation
1 day – Integrated Exam
Programme content
Each module consists of: Theory (reading and lectures); Context (case studies and guest speakers, etc.) and Integration (syndicate work, assignments, and projects). It is important to note that there is constant assessment on this programme and students will have to complete pre- reading, pre- block assessments and two post- block assignments per block. These assignments are taking through rigorous marking processes and are subject to the same scrutiny as other GIBS programmes such as the PMD and MBA.
Subjects include:
Action Learning Project; Strategy; Monitoring and Evaluation; Scaling; Social Change; Marketing; Financial Management; Financial Accounting; Operations Management; Systems Thinking; Personal Leadership; Governance and Legal Frameworks; Managing for High Performance; Alternative Income Streams; Innovation; Project Management
SECP is divided into four training blocks along the following themes:
I. Creating Change
Social Entrepreneurship and Systemic Change
- Consider the role of social entrepreneur’s vis-à-vis business and government in southern Africa
- Understand what constitutes systemic and long-lasting social change, and how we can achieve it
- Learn from particularly innovative solutions as case studies
Leadership and Strategic Planning
- Evaluate your own strengths and weaknesses to become a more effective leader
- Design and implement a leadership development process
- Understand the strategic principles behind powerful initiatives
- Introduction to monitoring and evaluation
- Integrate leadership, governance and strategy into a purpose-driven, contextually relevant organisational model
II. Sustaining Change Financially
Financial Planning and Sustainability
- Develop a business approach to the financing of your activities
- Identify new and creative revenue streams for your work
- Develop short-term and long-term business plans
- Gain the accounting and financial competencies critical to effective operations
- Attract & retain donors, investors and key partners
- Learn how to forecast and plan for sustainable growth
- Negotiate effectively with relevant stakeholders
III. Sustaining Change Operationally
Institutional and Project Management
- Increase the motivation and productivity of your staff, creating a culture of high performance
- Learn and implement the fundamentals of project management
- Gain conceptual tools to identify and address operational constraints
- Understand how to comply with government regulations and how to legally structure your initiative
- Plan for long-term operational and programmatic sustainability
- Monitor the performance of your enterprise and learn how to better allocate your resources
IV. Scaling Change
Marketing and Measuring Impact
- Harness the skills to successfully market and communicate your value proposition
- Learn how to research, evaluate and measure the impact of social initiatives.
Scaling Up Impact
- Explore organisational stages of growth and what is needed institutionally as your initiative develops
- Consider if, when and how you should scale up
- Assess various models for scaling impact
- Analyse case studies on growth patterns of social initiatives
- Cultivate new partnerships and learn how to maximise their potential
Contact information
If you have any questions, please contact Suvera Dukhi:
E-Mail: dukhis@gibs.co.za
Tel: +27 011 711 4205
Fees
The programme fee for 2016 is R29, 500
This includes:
- 24 days of training with some of South Africa’s best faculty
- Books, course packs, and supplementary materials
- Evening sessions and networking events
- Invitations to Alumni sessions
- Discounts on selected NSE events at GIBS
Full payment must be received at least 14 days before the programme commences.
Cancellation: Once a candidate has been offered and has accepted a position in the course, notification of cancellation must be sent in writing by email by 13 January 2016. Currently, bursary options exist for people who work in organizations that are supported by the Anglo American Chairman’s Fund and Rand Merchant Bank.
Attendance
In order to ensure the cohesion and caliber of the programme, it is very important that those who enroll are committed and engaged. Thus, full attendance is required. Urgent absences may be pre-approved, but missing more than one day of class per block may limit eligibility to graduate
Apply now
Successful candidates will have:
- minimum of five years work experience, at management level
- demonstrated motivation, conceptual skills, and drive
- tertiary qualification an advantage
*Applicants who are highly qualified but lack sufficient work or academic experience may be considered by exception. Applications will be reviewed and evaluated on a rolling basis. The course does fill quickly, so the earlier your application is submitted, the higher your chance of being accepted.
Scholarship
The Fix Scholarship is open to all applicants under the age of 35. All of these are dependent on these agreements being carried over to 2016, and on the applicant passing the entrance test.
5FM's Fikile 'Fix' Moeti is on a mission again to help create South Africa's Top Social Entrepreneurs.
Fix (as her listeners affectionately know her) is known for her bubbly personality on air and is a firm favourite with listeners, six days a week. She now is extending her portfolio to giving back to social development, an audience she is passionate about. This is the third year running of the Fix Scholarship in partnership with the Gordon Institute for Business Science (GIBS). Fix, who is a graduate of the GIBS Social Entrepreneurship Programme, is applying her personal mantras of achieving goals, and wants to pay the way forward by offering social agents an opportunity at the highly respected institution to make their visualisations' a realisation.
If you would like to apply, or know of someone who would benefit from this amazing initiative, please visit: http://www.fixscholarship.org/
