Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.) Social Entrepreneurship Syllabus - Mumbai University

About this course

Social entrepreneurship currently is viewed as a driver of economic growth, development and prosperity in India enabling the possibility of generating employment. The focus of social entrepreneurship is not only on profits but also on people and the planet thereby involving the community it serves to grow and sustain itself. Social Workers need to understand how they can work towards creating such social enterprises that not only address social needs but through innovative practices engage in accompanying groups and communities to preserve the environment and contribute to social value and sustainable development. Through this course, social work students will understand the process of developing such social enterprises through a process from ideation, incubation, resource generation leading to sustainability.

Course objectives

• This course will provide learners with
• An understanding of the basic ethos, concepts and processes related to social entrepreneurship.
• Enhance abilities to recognize the traits and competencies required of a social entrepreneur
• Provide insights into sequential steps to develop and grow a social enterprise from ideation to incubation and from acceleration to sustainability.

Learning outcomes

• CO 101 Discuss the concept of social entrepreneurship
• CO 102 List the required ecosystem that will build a stable social enterprise.
• CO 103 Initiate the process of Ideation and work on developing a simple business plan for a social enterprise in small groups
• CO 104 Explore possible resource development processes that can be effective in leading a social enterprise toward sustainability.

Unit I: Social Enterprises: An Introduction

• Concepts, definitions, characteristics of social entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship Eco- system; Systems thinking
• Ideation – Design Thinking and Innovation; Opportunity Mapping Conducting a feasibility analysis;
• Crafting a Competitive Business Plan; Testing out the Business Plan;
• Registration & forms of ownership, Intellectual Property Rights
• Entrepreneurial Competency Development

Essential readings

• David Bornstein and Susan Davis (2010). Social Entrepreneurship – What everyone needs to know, Oxford University Press, New York
• Banerjee, S., Carney, S., and Hulgard, L. (2020). People- centred Social Innovation: Global Perspectives on an Emerging
• New York: Routledge publication
• Brown, T. (2009). Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation. New York: Harper Collins

Unit II: Resource Mobilisation

• Micro-planning, Market research, Pricing;
• Creating a successful financial plan (Break Even & Cross Subsidy);
• Sources of funds: equity and debt; Crowd funding, CSR funds
• Linking with Government Schemes, Online Platforms, Angel & Venture Capitalist
• IT-enabled entrepreneurial team

Essential readings

• Paramasivan, C. (2016). Social Entrepreneurship. New Century Publications, New Delhi, India.
• Porteles, L., (2019). Social Innovation & Social Entrepreneurship, Palgrave, Macmillan, Switzerland.