AIBMENA WORKSHOP
13 January, 2015
University of Wollongong in Dubai
At the end of the program, each participant will receive a certificate of participation from AIBMENA.
Program
11.00-12.30: Session 1: Branding the Entrepreneur for VC Funding
Facilitators: Dr. Melodena S. Balakrishnan, University of Wollongong in Dubai, Dr. Ian Michael, Zayed University and Ionica Murtaza, Emirates Aviation College. This session is sponsored by AIBMENA.
Session 1: Brandingthe Entrepreneur for VC Funding
Contrary to common assumption, the development of a personal brand is an important criterion for funding for entrepreneurs. By understanding what potential venture capitalist investors are looking for, it is possible to communicate criteria for evaluation relevant for them to make a decision. We will be presenting the Entrepreneurial Brand Personality Equity Model developed by Balakrishnan and Michael, (2011). Critical factors you must consider before pitching will be identified vis-a-vis different types of private investors, stage of business and some strategies on how you can project these qualities will be discussed. Parts of the findings are funded by a grant by Abraaj Capital Group.
12.30-1.30: Lunch Break (participants can go to the KV food court for lunch)
1.30-2.30: Session 2: Understanding growth & scalability:
Facilitators: Dr. Melodena S Balakrishnan and Prof. Valerie Lindsay, University of Wollongong in Dubai.
Session 2: Understanding growth & scalability
Social entrepreneurs have various forms and challenges based on their purpose. This session provides a macro-viewpoint of the strategies social entrepreneurs can use to scale enterprises. Identifying your potential roadblocks and assessing what other successful entrepreneurs have done (you are not alone), may help you scale the hurdles of growth. The findings were part of a study sponsored by a UAE National Research Foundation grant. The session will cover
- The SE Stages and Ecosystem
- Managing multiple stakeholders
- Managing Resources
2.30-3.30: Session 3: The Winning Business Models for Social Ventures:
Facilitators: Dr. Victor Huang, Zayed University. This session is sponsored by AIBMENA.
Session 3: Winning Business Model for Social Ventures
With the emergence social ventures, innovation in business model has re-captured attention from organisations seeking survival and sustainable growth. Although the recognition of social ventures’ importance is mounting, progress towards becoming a true social business isn’t. “Winning business model for social ventures” develops a roadmap that will enable organisations to recognise and discover generic business model as a system of interconnected and interdepend activities both flexible in nature and experimental in practice. Business model choice and evolution for social ventures employ a systematic process to consider design configurations that may yield a high probability of success.
- Social venture struggles and pitfalls
- Divergent paths to social impact and change
- What is a business model? Process, progress, and design
3.30 – 4.30 Session 4: Measuring Impact
This session is sponsored by Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3), a social entrepreneurship accelerator based in Dubai. Their purpose is to enable Middle East emerging social entrepreneurs to become active agents of positive social change by leveraging experienced business professionals seeking meaningful ways to give back. This session is facilitated by Tena Pick and Rebecca Hill of C3.
Session 4: Measuring Impact
Measuring social impact is one of the biggest challenges social enterprises face. It is crucial for social enterprises to know how much impact their activities are creating and weather or not that impact is positive. This session explains the importance of data generation and analysis and gives an overview of available methodologies, with a focus on Social Return on Investment (SROI). The participants will leave with a clear idea of how to approach social impact measurement and what they need to cover in order to execute the measurement successfully.
Facilitator Profiles:
Melodena Stephens Balakrishnan has over 20+ years of corporate and academic experience.She has a multicultural background having lived in India, USA, Taiwan and now UAE. Her corporate experience was in market potential estimation, market and product development strategies and joint venture negotiations. Her area of strength is strategy. She is able to manage diverse stakeholder needs. She is on the Advisory Board of Sixth Factor, a boutique market research consultancy firm and the Leadership Committee for Arab World Social Entrepreneurship Program (ASEP) a MENA based initiative between Ashoka Arab World and Crescent Enterprises. She is an Associate Professor in the University of Wollongong in Dubai, one of UAE’s oldest private universities and is a visiting Professor in Karlshoshcshule International University, Karlshule, Germany. Her areas of research are place branding, social entrepreneurship, crisis management and loyalty studies. She has won several competitive research grants and recognitions in these areas and published in leading journals like the European Journal of Marketing. She is the Founder and President of a volunteer organization, Academy of International Business MENA chapter (AIBMENA) that has contributed to the visibility of the region in education and research. She has co-edited three books of cases on the Middle East exploring topics like managing in crisis and the intersection of west and east based management.
Ian Michael is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). He completed a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia. Ian’s research thesis examined consumer behavior over the internet, and was a pioneering study in the area at that time in Australia. He also holds an MBA degree, and he did a research thesis titled “The economic impact of overseas students on tourism in Victoria-Australia”, this again was a first of its kind research study. Ian has around 18 years of industry experience, in India and Australia, he held senior executive positions in the Travel & Tourism industry in both countries. He also has experience in the Banking & Finance, Advertising, Pharmaceutical and Transport & Logistics industry. Ian is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute (FAMI), and a Certified Marketing Practitioner (CPM). He has a number of refereed articles published in high quality journals, and has also presented at leading academic conferences. Ian has lead international research teams, and is presently working in an international research team at the Copenhagen Business School in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Victor Huang is an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at Zayed University, an Adjunct Professor of Management at Khalifa University (KUSTAR). He serves on the UAE team of Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Consortium, which publishes the bi-annual UAE national report on entrepreneurial activities. Dr. Huang’s research explores entrepreneurial opportunity and growth, His current research interests include: macroeconomic determinants of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial ecosystem, diaspora/multiculturalism, and female entrepreneurship. Dr. Huang’s academic writing has appeared in leading scholarly outlets including the Academy of Management Learning & Education, the Journal of Management, Journal of Business Venturing. He has been quoted in the Business Week and the Wall Street Journal. His latest co-authored book: Entrepreneurship an Emirati Perspective, is available in both Arabic and English. Dr. Huang is a member of the Academy of Management (AOM), and Vice-President (Academic Affairs) of the Academy of International Business (AIB) MENA Chapter. Prior to working in academia, he was an advisory consultant at Ernst & Young where he engaged in numerous corporate venturing projects with client companies such as: Apple, Microsoft, Henko, CRH, EMC corporation, etc.
Valerie Lindsay is a Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Business at the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD). Prior to joining UOWD, she held academic positions at the Victoria University of Wellington, the University of Auckland, both in New Zealand, and at the University of Warwick, in the UK, specializing in international business and strategy. Professor Lindsay’s research interests lie in the area of international strategy, specifically, internationalization and market entry, SMEs, services internationalization and business in Asia. Her work has been published in leading journals, including Management International Review, Organizational Dynamics, Industrial Marketing Management, and International Journal of Services Industry Marketing, and she co-authored the book, ‘Knowledge at Work’. Professor Lindsay has also consulted widely in the UK and New Zealand in areas relating to Strategy and Internationalization.
Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3): C3 enables Middle East emerging social entrepreneurs to become active agents of positive social change by leveraging experienced business professionals seeking meaningful ways to give back.
Tena Pick is co-founder and CEO at The Sustainability Platform, a Social Impact Consultancy focusing on CSR initiatives, NGOs and small and medium enterprises looking to integrate social business principles into their core business operations. The Sustainability Platform is specialising in social impact measurement and scaling of social enterprises. Tena is also the Head of Media for C3- Consult and Coach for a Cause, a non-for profit organization that brings together business professionals and social entrepreneurs in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa). She handles all media relations for the organization and is the editor of the blog(www.consciouscapitalismblog.me ).Tena holds a Master in Social Entrepreneurship and is passionate about using her skills to help create social change. Her previous experience in banking and consulting has given her valuable insights onto what makes the business world efficient and now she uses those techniques to help social enterprises maximize their outreach. . Tena has also led an international and multidisciplinary
team during a bio gar project in Indonesia. She was in charge of the team’s communication with the government and the community. The project was sponsored by HSBC. Her main interests include community development and women empowerment, as well as social marketing.
Rebecca Hill will be joining Tena. Rebecca is helping C3 engage partners and build strategic relations that ensure C3 success and more importantly Regional social enterprise’s sector development. Rebecca brings 20 years+ of experience in execution, management, training, and staff development. Her career spans through Europe, US, Asia, Middle East, with focus both on PR and Corporate Communications as well as Finance (working for firms like James Capel (now HSBC), the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development and Standard & Poor’s (part of the McGraw-Hill Companies) and Non-Profit sectors. Of particular interest for the C3 community is Rebecca’s non-profit experience as executive director at Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA). She took moribund organisation and rebuilt it (2008-2011). At time of departure MEPRA had more than 260 individual members, 28 registered agencies and a database of over 1000 practitioners
Registration for the course
The course is free but registration is limited. If you are interested in participating in this program for all three sessions, please send us your name, social entrepreneurship firm affiliation and designation. Please register by January 8, 2015.
Acknowledgements: This workshop would not be possible if not for the help from AIBMENA and all our volunteer experts, the generosity of UOWD and our case companies. Thank you.