What is Social Entrepreneurship?

Learn more about the definition of social entrepreneurship and how it’s changing how nonprofits and foundations operate. View the deck

Creating Disruptive Social Change

The Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lab (SEIL) serves to co-create an entrepreneurial and impact-focused culture of innovation with campus and community members, to spark new ways of tackling complex social problems.

Dr. Cameron Works with Deutscher Bundestag & 13 Change-makers from Sub-Saharan Africa as Part of the International Parliament Scholarship!

From diving into the root causes of “Big Problems” to crafting a vision and Impact strategy with solutions and scaling mechanisms, Dr. Cameron and the 13 change-makers covered it all. The day concluded with thoughtful reflections on building smart networks and putting their newfound knowledge to work in their communities across Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Ghana, and Namibia.

2024 social innovation in Berlin!

In the spring of 2024, a group of WashU students led by Dr. Heather Cameron had the opportunity to travel to Berlin to explore the landscape of community wealth-building and social businesses. They gained insights into how these concepts are applied in Berlin’s unique urban environment, and how it compares and contrasts to St. Louis. This comparative study class aims to understand the similarities and differences in approaches to social entrepreneurship and community development between the two cities.

Learn about the classes exploring social innovation in Berlin!

This past spring, 15 students had the opportunity to travel to Berlin over spring break to learn about social entrepreneurship in Berlin. Then, in May, seven students will be traveling to learn about Gender, Physical Activity, & Urban Development in Berlin

Social Entrepreneurs Wins Big at the Spring 2022 Olin Entrepreneurship Awards!

Congratulations to all of our amazing social entrepreneurship (SE) students that worked hard to improve their business pitches! Their hard work shined at the Spring 2022 Olin Entrepreneurship Awards Ceremony. We have 2 top two finishers and 13 out of 30 runners-up slots, including 7 of the top 10! View the winners of the Big Idea Bounce here

Some of our 2021 Brown School Olin Big Idea Bounce Winners at the ‘Ice-Cream Hangout’ with Dr. Cameron

Dr. Heather Cameron Awarded ‘Excellence in Mentorship’ Prize!

Hooray!!!

Dr. Heather Cameron has been awarded a campus-wide entrepreneurship “Excellence in mentorship” prize. Over the last two years, our students at the Brown School social entrepreneurship classes and SEI LAB fellows have won cash prizes in business plan competitions with their social business ideas coached by Dr. Heather Cameron and research and teaching staff Oluwabukola Apata.

We are very proud to be able to help raise the visibility of social entrepreneurship, social work, policy, and public health and highlight how faculty can work with students to build healthy communities with shared prosperity.

Past Events: The Social Impact Speaker Series

Presented by the Business of Social Impact Minor and The Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lab (SEIL).  Held on four Tuesdays from April 5, 2022 from 11:30 am – 12:15 pm at the Olin Business School, Simon 109.

Catch Up On Events

Capital Access Research

Check out our research project in partnership with WEPOWER on access to capital for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs.

A conversation about Black entrepreneurship in St. Louis

Check out our conversation with Tyrean Lewis, founder of Heru Urban Farming and Garden, and Brandon Original, founder of Original Family Smokehouse.

Impact Investing Report

Innovative Approaches to Investing with Impact in St. Louis

Disrupting Venture Capital with Arlan Hamilton 

Founding Schools