Course Description

People in every corner of the world are innovating to solve social and environmental problems in their communities. In the past decade, new programs like MIT Solve have emerged to support those social entrepreneurs and drive partnerships to accelerate their impact. However, many startups find …

People in every corner of the world are innovating to solve social and environmental problems in their communities. In the past decade, new programs like MIT Solve have emerged to support those social entrepreneurs and drive partnerships to accelerate their impact. However, many startups find it difficult to develop business plans that clearly communicate their work and impact.

The main focus of this course is to help early-stage social impact startups define key aspects of their business by examining case studies from leading social entrepreneurs and both nonprofit and for-profit enterprises around the world.

The course was created by MIT Solve for MITx, and is now archived on the Open Learning Library (OLL), which is free to use. You have the option to sign up and enroll in each module if you want to track your progress, or you can view and use all the materials without enrolling.

A young African woman is smiling as she workshops ideas with other local entrepreneurs at a large table.
Nancy Kayitare is a young Rwandan entrepreneur who runs TouTrip, a search engine for making travel arrangements that she founded after having difficulty arranging trips to remote areas of the country. (Image by Yagazie Emezi. Source: Getty Images/Images of Empowerment. License: CC BY-NC.)