Stanford Seed, a GSB-led initiative, currently offers Seed Transformation program – a high touch one-year program for entrepreneurs in emerging markets to build thriving enterprises that transform lives.
The program was initially started in West Africa in 2012, followed by East Africa in 2016. Launched in 2017 in India, Stanford Seed’s vision is to end the cycle of global poverty by enabling the SME business leaders in the emerging economies to lead their regions to social and economic prosperity.
The fundamental thesis of this program is applying management principles for scaling and transforming Small & medium sized businesses, which in-turn will generate more employment, contributing to the positive societal impact & overall economy in the emerging markets.
The one year program has four separate one-week classroom sessions to explore topics ranging from leadership, strategy, accounting, marketing, and value chain innovations, and also comprises of in-company workshops & leadership labs.
The final outcome of the program is for the participant (Business Leader) & his leadership team to create a transformation plan for their company, a detailed action plan for the business with concrete steps helping them to grow and scale over the next three to five years, says Dr. Sirish Dhurjety, a Seed Facilitator, who was here in the city recently.
He further adds that working with the companies in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal is one of their mandates, and this program could be a game-changer for these companies in adding fresh perspective and assist them in reaching to new heights.
Sirish says, “In my past roles as Management Consultant and Investment Advisor, I worked closely with clients to draw up business plans, and then assist them in strategic initiatives. Today, as a Seed facilitator, I help leaders and leadership teams to draw up a transformation plan themselves. Having seen the transformation that the two styles can bring, I vouch for the latter being more relevant and powerful.”
The good news is that this program is supported significantly by philanthropic contributions. The application for the next cohort starting 15th December 2019 is currently open, and the application closes by 15th June 2019. For more details on the program, please do visit www.gsb.stanford.edu/seed
