NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Santa Clara University is known in social entrepreneurial circles for its work helping to organize and judge the Tech Museum Awards – a showcase for social entrepreneurs, mostly from developing countries. Less well-known about the school is the Global Social Benefit Incubator, run by SCU’s Center for Science, Technology, and Society and a host of Silicon Valley volunteers.

The GSBI, under the guidance of Professor Jim Koch, selects 15-20 enterprises from developing countries and provides an 8-month mentoring process. The mentoring culminates with an intensive 10-day process in Santa Clara, where entrepreneurs work with their mentors, other experts, and each other to prepare themselves to succeed upon their return home. Applications for the fully-funded 2009 class of entrepreneurs are available now over at Social Edge.

Note: The first application exercise is due this Friday, January 16 – don’t delay, start your application today!

NextBillion.net participated in the 2008 GSBI, with Staff Writer Al Hammond and Managing Editor Francisco Noguera traveling to Santa Clara to help mentor the class. Francisco captured a number of the entrepreneurs on video – they are must-watches for anyone interested in the program.

Personally, I’ve always been a huge fan of the program. It’s worked in the past with BoP leaders like Bal Joshi, Graham Macmillan and Matt Flannery. Last year’s class included Deepinder Mohan, a water entrepreneur of some repute and Tevis Howard, who I later met at Pop!Tech.

If you – or someone you know – has launched a company working for and with base of the pyramid communities, consider applying to the GSBI for 2009. You won’t regret it.