Social Entrepreneurship: Building Social Enterprises Through Digital Crowdfunding and Ecosystem Support
When:
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Venue:
Hybrid
This event brings together two projects on social entrepreneurship conducted by research teams at Brunel University of London, University of Sussex and Oxford Internet Institute at University of Oxford:
· “Digital Crowdfunding for Social Entrepreneurship” funded by the ESRC Digital Good Network;
· “Doing Good, Growing Strong: Catalysing economic and social impact in Jordan through sustainable social enterprises” funded by British Academy.
The projects explore how digital crowdfunding can be a powerful financing mechanism for social entrepreneurship towards building sustainable communities, and how a strong support ecosystem can accelerate the growth, sustainability, and impact of social enterprises. Bringing together different stakeholders, these projects highlight emerging trends, proven strategies, and practical tools for mobilizing resources in the digital age. Participants will gain insights into how crowdfunding platforms unlock new pathways for social entrepreneurs to validate ideas, build communities, and access capital beyond traditional funding channels, and how different stakeholders in an ecosystem can co-create innovative solutions to community and societal problems.
Please note: if you are attending online, you will be emailed a Teams link prior to the event, which will take you to the online event.
Contact name: Wendy Tuxworth
Speakers-
Dr. Farah Al-Taji
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Dr. Farah Al-Taji is a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Strategy at Brunel University of London and Programme Leader for the MSc Management. Her research sits at the intersection of social entrepreneurship, hybrid organisations, and human capital, with a particular focus on gender, refugees, and inclusive development. Through both her research and practice, she seeks to build locally grounded yet globally connected ecosystems that advance social impact and foster sustainable development.
She is the Principal Investigator of the British Academy–funded project Doing Good, Growing Strong: Catalysing Economic and Social Impact in Jordan through Sustainable Social Enterprises, hosted by Brunel University in partnership with the German Jordanian University and Lund University. Previously, she worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher on another British Academy–funded project with the University of Birmingham and Al-Balqa Applied University, exploring gender paradoxes and refugee entrepreneurship.
Beyond academia, Farah has founded and led multiple social initiatives, including WeConnect, a mental-health and community-support for the people affected by the war in Gaza, launched through the Arab Innovation Network.
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Dr. Xiangming Tao
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Dr. Xiangming (Tommy) Tao is an Assistant Professor in Innovation and Project Management and Co-Director of Project Management MSc Programe at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex Business School. He has previously served as a Visiting Scholar at Warwick Business School and Politecnico di Milano School of Management.
His primary research interests lie at the dynamic intersection of innovation, entrepreneurship, and project management. His research work has been published in outlets such as the Journal of Product Innovation Management, Small Business Economics, Technovation, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, and International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research.
Dr. Tao was the Principal Investigator of a British Academy–funded project, titled Entrepreneurial Learning from Serial Crowdfunding Campaigns for Public Benefit, with Professor Catherine Wang as a Co-Investigator.
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Catherine Wang
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Catherine Wang is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy and the Research Excellence Framework (REF) Lead at Brunel Business School. She is an elected Fellow of the British Academy of Management, and also hold other roles: a British Academy of Management Peer Review College Fellow (Inaugural Cohort), an ESRC Assessor College member, an ESRC Peer Review College Member, and a journal editorial board member for British Journal of Management, International Journal of Management reviews, and International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. She has also served as a Scientific Evaluator on a number of international grant panels in the UK, the US, Finland, Portugal, the Netherlands and Kazakhstan.
Catherine’s research interests are at the intersection of entrepreneurship, strategy and innovation, in particular, how firms can turn strategic and entrepreneurial resources and capabilities into successful innovation and create economic and social value in commercial and social enterprises, based on interdisciplinary theory, methods and practice. As an ESRC Digital Good Network Fellow, she has recently completed a project on Digital Crowdfunding for Social Entrepreneurship, with Dr Tommy Tao as the Co-investigator.
Her work has published in leading journals, including Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, British Journal of Management, Journal of Business Research, International Small Business Journal, Journal of Small Business Management, Small Business Economics, International Journal of Management Reviews, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research, R&D Management, and Technovation. According to Stanford University’s citation analysis published by Elsevier, Catherine is ranked as among the top 2% of business and management researchers worldwide.
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Dr. Awele Achi
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Dr. Awele Achi is a Lecturer in Strategy and Management at Brunel Business School, Brunel University of London, UK. Before joining Brunel, Awele contributed to teaching and research in several universities including Coventry University London, The Open University, UK and Lagos Business School, Nigeria.
Awele’s research engages with issues situated at the intersection of strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship. He is particularly interested in research that explores social innovation, entrepreneurship, strategic capabilities, sustainability, general management and marketing strategy. Additionally, Awele’s research uses or combines a variety of quantitative and/or qualitative techniques to address research questions. His research has been published in outlets such as Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Journal of Business Research, and International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research.
Currently, he is a co-investigator of the British Academy–funded project Doing Good, Growing Strong: Catalysing Economic and Social Impact in Jordan through Sustainable Social Enterprises. Prior to entering academia, Awele worked in the industry, in the areas of marketing, non-profit and strategy consulting.
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