The Social Entrepreneurship Hub is a program focused on supporting innovative projects from students working to resolve community issues.
Purpose, people and project are the pillars of the Social Entrepreneurship Hub at Tec Guadalajara, which helps to formulate the social changes proposed by students.
The Hub has a mentoring network of more than 40 expert participants, most of whom are from outside of the Tec community.
2 mentors with different profiles are assigned to accompany the students throughout the program: a business expert and a specialist in the problem area.
Lourdes Valenzuela, coordinator of Innovative Social Entrepreneurship, said that “this is good because new partnerships are forged.
There’s also an accompaniment and follow-up program because we’re looking for mentors who also want to learn to be social entrepreneurs.”
It is a one-year program with requests for proposals each semester focused on students sharing, developing, and implementing their ideas.
The program consists of 7 modules, divided into 2 phases. The modules included are:
- Social entrepreneurship and agency for change,
- The definition of social issues,
- Understanding social problems and developing prototypes,
- Designing high-impact business models,
- Financial sustainability,
- Measuring results and impacts, and
- Narratives for social change.
In modules 1 to 3 of the first phase, students work on defining, validating, and undertaking an in-depth investigation of the problem.
Subsequently, in modules 4 to 7, they work on the design and use of specialized tools for the development and implementation of the project.
Consultancy and outreach
The Hub also links students with similar proposals so their projects can grow; this has led to significant achievements.
Proof of this is the Tucs México venture, a project to show appreciation for the work of artisans and foster fair trade for handicrafts.
The project participated in the Social Business Creation call at the HEC Montréal business school, reached the top 5, and received $2,000 Canadian dollars in financial support.
“This shows us that what we do is generating results... It also says a lot about the commitment students have to the projects,” said Valenzuela.
“This is the first group to start with virtual learning and, at the same time, it is the largest cohort we have ever had.”
New virtual learning
Currently, the program is working on 18 projects with the 2020 cohort divided into 2 groups. The first group is made up of 6 proposals and 22 students from Guadalajara.
Despite the distance required as a result of the pandemic, the second group consists of 12 projects and 45 students.
The campuses now participating are: Guadalajara, Aguascalientes, Sonora and Sinaloa.
“This is the first group to start with virtual learning and, at the same time, it is the largest cohort we have ever had.”
“Virtual learning is actually helping us, and we are making good progress,” confirmed the coordinator.
The projects that are currently concentrated at the Tec’s Social Entrepreneurship Hub on Guadalajara campus, are:
February - July 2020 cohort
- Vinner - gender and safety,
- CAPIO - waste management,
- Gliksys - the right to health care,
- BioStrata - disposable products that eliminate waste,
- Proxima - the gender gap and access to opportunities, and
- Ruta Azul – inclusion.
August - December 2020 cohort
- NICTÉ - cosmeceuticals,
- Second Chance - waste management,
- Xplota - youth empowerment,
- ManKind - masculinities,
- Arq sin fronteras - decent housing,
- Fraris - access to health and mental health education,
- Conócete (Get to know yourself) - sex education,
- Quiero Ser (I want to be) - access to opportunities,
- Escuelas que inspiran (schools that inspire) - educational innovation,
- Recycly - waste management,
- Baani - waste management, and
- Una mano de corazón (Hand on heart) - accessible prostheses.
The Change Center is an area open to students which focuses on teaching and developing solutions to current issues.
The Social Entrepreneurship Hub seeks to provide further opportunities for the Tec community to have an impact on society, through training and supporting agents of change.
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