Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/54913
people in a developing nation to receive inoculations at a clinic. I ask them, "How will the people get there? What's the transportation system? If you have vaccines, how will you keep them cold? Do you have a refrigeration system? What makes you think you're going to have power? And, by the way, if you have a refrigera- tor, do you realize you'd better weld it to the floor or it might get stolen?" There's a lot they'll have to think about before they go into challenging environments. Moreover, I ask them to consider what happens if their businesses are really successful. Even as they're helping some people, there will be others who are disadvantaged by their success. I tell them, "Those people aren't your friends, and if they have contacts in high places, you could be shut down." So among the exercises I have them do is a political analysis. I call this "thinking through the last yard of delivery" when plan- ning in uncertain environments. It's also simply a reality check. Students are working on ventures that are highly uncertain, and sometimes it becomes increasingly apparent that they won't be able to accomplish their initial target out- come. So I have them think about how they can keep redirecting and refining their plans. Some students also struggle with the notion that even ventures de- signed to do good need to generate sustained funding, so I constantly emphasize the themes of self- sufficiency and profitability. The sheer discipline of having to think about how to make a profit really forces students to drive down costs and increase potential revenues. Even if students get to the end of the program and realize they can't make profits on their ventures, any project they launch nonetheless will use far fewer resources. The fact is, nonprofit organiza- tions and governmental aid ini- tiatives have poured a great deal of money into trying to combat poverty, and the impact hasn't been encouraging. Now social entrepre- neurs are starting to address the world's problems. However, let's be clear that the challenges are immense. After all, if the solutions were obvious, someone else would already be employing them. To teach social enterprise, we know we must attack these problems with a formidable array of weapons: cutting-edge research, deep intellec- tual insight, and committed students. There are many in today's generation of students who say, "I was lucky Hydros Bottle founders Aakash Mathur, right, and Jay Parekh. Developed in part through the Wharton School's societal wealth venturing program, the Hydros Bottle is a filtering water bottle that is an alternative to the disposable plastic water bottles that clog up landfills. The founders hope that improved filters one day will help provide clean water to people in developing nations. the nonprofit Engineers Without Borders for a mission that delivers fresh water to Gundom, a village in Cameroon. Currently, $1 of each sale is donated to BizEd May/June 2011 33