The Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator at Duke (SEAD) is a USAID-funded accelerator program to build the capacity of innovative global health enterprises to increase their effectiveness, sustainability and scale of impact.  SEAD brings together interdisciplinary partners including the Center for Advancement of Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, the International Partnership for Innovative Healthcare Delivery (IPIHD), the Duke Institute for Health Innovation, Duke Global Health Institute, Investors’ Circle, and others. 

Read more to see what benefits SEAD can bring to you and our selection criteria.

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How can I get involved or suggest an organization for SEAD? 

If you have read the criteria and believe your or another organization would be a good fit, it's simple! 

Benefits to SEAD Entrepreneurs

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SEAD works closely with a select group of enterprises that seek to scale their impact through a rigorous global health accelerator program with a focus on data and evaluation (for enterprises operating in India or East Africa).  Selections for SEAD occur once per year.  Through SEAD, enterprises:

Through SEAD, innovators:

  • Leverage the health ecosystems in India and East Africa through SEAD’s extensive network in these regions.
  • Gain a competitive edge working with and learning from some of the top innovative organizations in the world through access to a cohort of peers focused on serving critical global health needs.
  • Get tailored expert support to address your scaling challenges and increase the sustainability of your business. 
  • Become a member of the IPIHD Network:  All SEAD enterprises are given membership to IPIHD’s diverse and global network comprised of health-focused innovators and senior healthcare leaders, including corporations and foundations such as Medtronic, Aetna, GlaxoSmithKline, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
  • Connect to a supportive academic ecosystem and contribute to research on scaling impact while forging research collaborations with key Duke University faculty and leadership.
  • Improve understanding of your organization’s impact by refining key metrics and measurement strategies.
  • Receive fundraising support, expertise, and connections.
  • Evaluate and strengthen business strategies by leveraging student support (on the ground), and site visits by the SEAD team.
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Selection Criteria 

Enterprises that join SEAD participate in a three-year program and receive tailored capacity building support to address their priority scaling challenges.  Selections are made annually through a competitive process and based on the following criteria. 
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How has SEAD benefited other entrepreneurs?

Though not all entrepreneurs are guaranteed to gain the same benefits from SEAD, being part of SEAD can increase the likelihood of exposure to opportunities such as the example from the first cohort of entrepreneurs below.

Changamka is a SEAD entrepreneur in Kenya that provides a low-cost health insurance product in partnership with Safaricom.  Through its involvement with SEAD, Changamka received:

Bi-monthly coaching calls with a leading impact investing practitioner

Customized marketing support from NY Times bestselling author and behavior change specialist

Targeted introductions to healthcare investors interested in the Kenyan market

Opportunity to present to the head of USAID

Going forward, Changamka will work with the SEAD program to support strategic growth questions as it looks to sign up one million families as subscribers for its health insurance program this year.