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

“Intersections of Business Education and Economic Development,” the 2017 GBSN Conference in Washington D.C., will focus on the innovative and interdisciplinary ways business schools are collaborating with academia, businesses, NGOs and the public sector to advance economic development and expand opportunities.

Conference participants will examine the role business schools play in economic and social development, and assess the evolution of education in the face of recent world events, discussing questions such as:

How have Business Schools integrated social and environmental issues into their curriculums?

What are the cross-sectorial initiatives within business education that drive or reinforce economic development?

How are schools responding to fears of the perceived impact of globalization?

Sessions at the GBSN Conference will address these questions and many more, highlighting opportunities and challenges in the areas of the five sub-themes:

1. Collaboration/Interdiciplinarity

Focusing on inter-academic collaboration and integrated approaches to business education that foster stronger technical skills and broader perspectives in graduates.

2. Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)

Presenting successful PPP models that facilitate long-term economic development.

3. Sustainability and the UN Global Goals

Highlighting how business and management institutions are working towards creating a more prosperous, equitable and sustainable world.

4. Impact Measures

Revisiting how we measure outcomes and successes in business and economic development.

5. Globalization/Localization?

Analyzing the dilemma of global and local strategies and the implications for the sectors of education, business and development.

The growing demand for socially-responsible and purposeful investing can no longer be ignored or filed under ‘compliance’. Impact investing is on the rise, whether it be driven by the ultra-wealthy or demanded by stakeholders of the world’s biggest pension funds. If you are not impact-focused, you are not investor-focused.

The PEI Family Office Impact Investor Forum: Singapore brings together the investment community with the practitioners driving triple-bottom-line returns. Join us to take a look at impact investing across asset classes and geographies, discover best practice investment processes and examine deal dynamics through an impact lens.

As our fourth forum on human rights and business, we will be building on previous years events, with an emphasis on more tangible, interactive and high-level discussion.

This event is designed to provide companies with the knowledge, insight and practical guidance on how business can best engage and manage human rights risks in their operations and supply chains.

Session formats have been updated to include Q&As, question time, case studies and scenario-based training to ensure sessions are interactive and engaging.

Over the two days we’ll bring together business, NGOs, multi stakeholder initiatives and government to discuss the most pressing issues that you deal with day to day, and those that you should be focussing on in the next five years.

ALN is a network for people who are passionate about developing 3 million leaders for Africa by 2060. Our mission is to create a convening place for all those who believe in this vision to transform Africa.

This year’s Gathering will explore the mindsets, skills and networks leaders need in order to tackle seemingly impossible challenges.

Each year, 300 of the most interesting, inspiring, and influential people from across Africa and around the world gather for 3 days to reflect on how they can elevate the continent to greater heights by addressing its most pressing issue: leadership. Those in attendance explore how they can transform Africa by becoming better leaders themselves and by playing a role in nurturing the next generation of African leaders. The theme of this year’s gathering is “Impossible”, which will explore the mindsets, skillsets, and networks leaders need to embrace as they embark on the seemingly impossible journey of making this century the ‘African Century’. Join us for an energizing, inspiring, and thought-provoking experience on the beautiful island of Mauritius and become part of a movement that will redefine Africa.

Oxford Saïd is the first business school in the world to offer a complementary suite of executive programmes focusing on social finance and impact investing. We draw on the latest research conducted through the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship by Professor Alex Nicholls, our Academic Director. Alex recently released the first comprehensive book on Social Finance.

You will be surrounded by a group of deeply committed, intensely curious colleagues, eager to build a better world. You will be immersed in academic rigour and will study ambitious, disruptive global initiatives intended to drive solutions to scale.

Scale here is defined as Big Bet or Grand Challenge, deals that require significant investment of resources – the multi-millions, billions or trillions of dollars needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goals or Climate Change interventions, or have a significant scope (city-wide, country-wide, or global impact).

Our social impact alumni network is a globally diverse group of industry pioneers, representing 56 nationalities and 54 work countries across all 7 continents.

We invite you to develop your social finance strategy with us.

Today, the way we produce our food contributes up to half of all global greenhouse gas emissions. But did you know that we can use food and farming as a tool to foster vibrant communities and trade, regenerate the environment, feed the world – and mitigate the effects of global warming and climate change? The Regenerative Earth Summit: Food + Climate + Culture is not your usual conference. The Summit aspires to a bold goal: create an actionable plan to enhance the adoption of regenerative strategies in our system of food and agriculture. The Summit embraces a model that engages the talents and interests of diverse stakeholders, from businesses to farmers to citizen consumers.

The Lean LaunchPad® Educators Seminar is a 2 day program designed for entrepreneurship faculty who want to learn the basics of integrating Lean Startup principles into their teaching. You will learn key techniques for building a curriculum that you can adapt to your institutional environment and needs and put to immediate use.

Prerequisites:  The two-day Intermediate Workshop is taught assuming familiarity with the foundational concepts of the Lean Startup approach: the business model canvas, the customer development process and agile engineering.

Intended participants: The seminar is designed for educators affiliated with an educational institution who want to develop a course to teach students lifelong entrepreneurial skills. Application is required.

Priority will be given to:

• Educators who want to incorporate Lean Startup methodology into their entrepreneurship education course or program environment
• Teaching teams with multiple members
• Educators currently teaching or conversant with the business model canvas, customer development or Lean LaunchPad®
• Incubators and accelerator program managers
• Anyone interested in building entrepreneurship and innovation development programs

Sanabel is pleased to announce this year’s annual conference which will be held in Beirut, Lebanon between November 7-8, 2017.

Sanabel, the Microfinance Network of Arab Countries was officially established in 2002, and together this year we will be celebrating its 15^th Anniversary which will be reflected in our conference theme “Financial Inclusion in the Arab Countries; A Journey of Collaboration and Achievements“.

Spanning from Morocco to Yemen, Sanabel members have led the sector from its infancy as small NGOs, testing themselves as pioneers and becoming today’s leaders in a region full of potential and opportunities, and at times challenging environments. However, the simple existence and continued growth observed at Sanabel is a true reflection of the success of its members who have collectively served millions of marginalized men, women and youth across the region.

Sanabel members, together with their partners, funders, investors and governments, have progressed in their journey over the last two decades. Discussions of the merits of microcredit have evolved into discussions of transformation, product diversification, risk management, good governance and ultimately leading to a broader goal of financial inclusion for all. While we stand together today empowered by our past successes and enhanced experiences, we look forward to a future of ambitious goals that result in increasing our impact and achieving tangible results in our race towards socially and financially inclusive communities across the Arab region.

The Sanabel’s 2017 Conference as usual will provide a platform for discussions, debates and networking opportunities for all regional and global stakeholders where experiences and knowledge are shared among peers.

We look forward to welcoming you all at Sanabel’s 2017 Conference in Lebanon, and will be sharing on this platform conference updates as they become available in the weeks and months to come.