I recently hosted a networking reception around the theme of social entrepreneurship.  Social entrepreneurship is a relatively new term, but the concept – identifying a problem in society and applying the tools and energy of business entrepreneurship to address it – has been around as long as civilization itself.

The genesis for this event was when some of our young Tunisian contacts, many of whom had participated in leadership programs in the United States, asked us for help.  They told us that they enjoyed having experienced the US approach to leadership, from participating in volunteer programs to getting involved in the community.  They came back to Tunisia full of enthusiasm ready to make a difference in their communities.  But they said they needed role models of Tunisians who had made their mark in the world.  They wanted to learn from their examples. 

That got us thinking.  We know a lot of Tunisians who have accomplished great things in their respective fields, whether in education, the arts, the scientific and technical realm, and business.  Why not do what we as Americans do best – bring them together and help them network? 

         To highlight the example of one very accomplished Tunisian social entrepreneur, I asked Dr. Mahmoud Triki to share his story with the group.  This is a man who had a vision to create an English-language MBA program in Tunisia.  Because of his dream, and his drive to make it a reality, we now have South Mediterranean University (SMU). 

         It was great to look out into the crowd and see all of the networking going on.  I hope that this event and the connections that were made there helped inspire some of Tunisia’s next generation of social entrepreneurs!