Harvard Business School Names ’11 Social Entrepreneurship Fellow
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Media-Newswire.com) – BOSTON-Harvard Business School has awarded the 2011 Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship to Rakhi Mehra ( MBA 2009 ). Mehra was selected for her work in co-founding micro Home Solutions ( mHS ), a social initiative for developing sustainable housing solutions for the urban poor. Her achievement was recognized at this year’s HBS Business Plan Contest, where teams of student entrepreneurs compete to win cash and in-kind services.
The HBS Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship program supports recent HBS graduates who are launching social ventures – nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid organizations – with a central focus on creating social value. Through a competitive selection process, the program provides a recipient with $25,000 in funding to support the venture.
“Harvard Business School has a tremendous commitment to social enterprise, which is exemplified through the work of Rakhi Mehra and other MBA students and alumni striving to drive social change,” said Laura Moon, Director of the School’s Social Enterprise Initiative. “Since the beginning of the Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship program, we have seen a wide array of business models geared to solving important issues, from civil rights and equality of opportunity to education and public health, both nationwide and globally.”
Based in New Delhi, mHS is working to build more socially inclusive cities by developing a portfolio of economically viable housing solutions for low-income populations. Starting in India and expanding to other countries around the world, mHS develops and implements projects based on the three key principles of community, affordability, and sustainable design.
“The HBS Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship award is a true honor and timely encouragement,” said Mehra. “This recognition gives me a renewed sense of responsibility in the leadership role I can play in the area of social housing in India.”
