Smith Business Close-Up: Building Businesses to Help Haiti

For Haiti, still reeling from a devastating earthquake -- and other developing nations ravaged by disaster -- the primary focus is on humanitarian aid. But beyond government and philanthropic support, entrepreneurs could have an impact.

In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Melissa Carrier, executive director of the Center for Social Value Creation, discusses how entrepreneurship and innovation can help solve global challenges.

Increasing, business schools are tackling how social entrepreneurship can aid in international development. At the Smith School, the Center for Social Value Creation is teaming up with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for the Global Challenge, a first-of-its-kind competition that challenges teams of MBA and other graduate students to develop business solutions that support international development. Teams will be tasked with devising a new public-private alliance that allows a private enterprise to meet its long-term business goals while contributing to international development initiatives in a specified region. The final event will be held on April 23 in Washington.