Green Entrepreneurship (2020)
This course will offer a step-by-step framework for transforming a green business idea into a viable business plan. It will provide the tools needed to generate, test, and refine an idea for a green business, together with successful examples of green entrepreneurs’ paths from business ideas to value-generating, market-fit solutions.
Start date: 2 November 2020 End date: 20 December 2020 Duration: 6 weeks Estimated effort: 3 hours per week (requirements)
Languages: English
Requirements: Internet connection
Partners: Contact course coordinator Course syllabus Meet the experts FAQs
Do you want to grasp new business opportunities in the field of productive, circular and sharing economies? Are you interested in addressing environmental challenges by selling a green product or service and creating green jobs in your country? Would you like to create and launch an innovative business model that creates environmental and social value?
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Convention on Biological Diversity, EcoEnterprises Fund, FaithInvest, Fordham University's Gabelli School of Business, Lehigh University, Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production, SEED, and The GEF Small Grants Programme joined forces to offer you the Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) on Green Entrepreneurship.
Drawing on the training methodology developed by the Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP/RAC) of the UNEP/Mediterranean Action Plan, within the framework of the EU-funded SwitchMed project, the Handbook for Green Entrepreneurs “Create your Green Business”, this six-week course will guide you through your green entrepreneur journey, from defining your idea to the commercialisation of products and services.
Course highlights and outcomes
- Gain the skills needed to turn environmental challenges into green business opportunities
- Interact with experts with a solid track record of creating and operating green businesses
- Join the community of green entrepreneurs
- Take a deep dive into rich learning materials
- Receive a certificate of completion from premier development institutions
Learning objectives
By the time the course is completed, you will be able to:
- Define your green business idea
- Understand your market and define your value proposition
- Outline all the tasks and resources needed to generate, innovate, and manage the value delivered to customers
- Create a financial and management plan for your business
- Deliver an ‘elevator’ pitch to potential investors and customers
Course topics
The course will cover the following topics:
- Week 1: Introduction to Green Entrepreneurship and Sketching Out Your Green Business Idea
- Week 2: Making a Positive Impact with your Green Business Idea
- Week 3: Identifying your Customers and Stakeholders
- Week 4: Putting your Green Business Model into Context
- Week 5: Financing your Green Business Idea
- Week 6: Managing, Scaling Up and Communicating your Green Business Idea
Course completion requirements
To receive the certificate of course completion, participants must complete:
- Six online lessons
- Six weekly quizzes
- The course survey
If you have any questions, please contact the Learning for Nature team at info@learningfornature.org.
Direct Enterprise Support Openings 
Category: Training Programme 
Dates: Application deadlines: 30 October 2020 - South Africa, 6 November 2020 - Indonesia, 9 November 2020 - India. 
Cost: Free, but application process required. SEED, a global partnership for action on sustainable development and the green economy, is offering training opportunities for kickstarting entrepreneurship journeys and incubating fresh ideas for ec0-inclusive enterprises. Participants from India, Indonesia, and South Africa are eligible to apply.
Community Conversations for Advancing Equity in Entrepreneurship Education Category: Training Programme Dates: 28 October for the first conversation, further conversations TBC. Cost: Free VentureWell will host a series of community conversations around the six areas for action presented in their report, Advancing Equity: Dynamic Strategies for Authentic Engagement in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. In each conversation, they will discuss ways to address inequities in STEM innovation and entrepreneurship education. The first community conversation will take place on 28 October. It will discuss strategies and solutions for addressing barriers in conducting authentic outreach to early-stage innovators and engaging faculty as mentors.
Impact.Engineered 2020 Category: Virtual Event and Networking Dates: 3-4 December 2020 Cost: Free Impact.Engineered is a free virtual event and networking experience that will take place on 3-4 December 2020. It will include inspirational keynotes, mindful conversations, celebration and networking to advance the role of engineering and technology in sustainable development. The event will allow you to connect with the global community of engineering experts, social innovators and pragmatic optimists to strategize, get inspired, and celebrate cutting edge work solving humankind’s biggest challenges and building a better future.
VentureWell Annual Conference Category: Virtual Event and Networking Dates: 17-19 March 2021 Cost: Free VentureWell, a non-profit organization cultivating a pipeline of inventors, innovators, and entrepreneurs, will gather representatives from across the innovation and entrepreneurship spectrum to share stories, start new collaborations, and learn emerging best practices in the field of science and technology entrepreneurship education at its annual open conference. The conference will offer space for meaningful conversations and deep connections between attendees.
Finance for Nature Virtual Global Series Category: Virtual Event Dates: N/A, recorded Cost: Free The Finance for Nature Virtual Global Series brought together industry champions from finance, insurance, consumer goods companies and standard-setting regulators to drive practical commitments on investing in nature. Session recordings are available on Learning for Nature.
NextBillion Open Forum Category: Information Dates: N/A, ongoing Cost: Free NextBillion is an open forum for the development through enterprise sector. The site is a community of business leaders, social entrepreneurs, NGO managers, policy makers, academics and others exploring the connection between development and for-profit business. It offers guest-written content from entrepreneurs, researchers and others working on the ground in emerging markets, along with regular interviews with the thought-leaders who are shaping the sector. NextBillion also offers an editor-curated news feed, a calendar of important events, and a jobs board with continuously updated employment opportunities across the development through enterprise sector.
GreenBiz Webcasts Category: Information Dates: Next webcast on 10 November 2020. Past webcast recordings available. Cost: Free. GreenBiz webcasts highlight the latest sustainability strategies, policies, technologies and trends. You can learn from industry experts and your peers about how to implement the most effective sustainability measures within your organization. You can register for upcoming webcasts and access archived events.
Course Coordinator
+2064 enrolled Course Includes
- Course Certificate
I am blessed to be part of this course. I want to thank the organizers, partners, and facilitators for putting this timely course together. Indeed it was a wealth of information that will be used for a lifetime to improved my knowledge in developing my Green Entrepreneur business.
Thanking you again.
Hi Magdalene,
Thank you for taking part, and congratulations on finishing the course! It is great to hear that you have been able to enhance your knowledge.
We wish you the best of luck with your green business!
I’m very grateful for the organizers and lecturers for making this course available.Thank you for all the effort, energy, attention and information you’ve put here <3 I will definitely use it. Lot’s of love and good luck to everyone in green enterpreneurship!
Hi @Kotryna Razinskaite
Congratulations on completing the course! We are glad you participated and found the materials useful.
Best of luck with your green entrepreneurship path.
Dear @Kotryna Razinskaite,
Thank you so much for your kind words! We are happy to hear that you have found the course interesting and insightful! We appreciate your collaboration and participation in the program.
Congratulations for the successful finalization of the course!
Thank you very much It was an amazing course, I really appreciate to attend it, inspiring and helpful for my job. I have just a technical issue, I completed all the modules but I’m not able to download the certificate, could you help me?
Dear @Silvia Soccol,
Congratulations for the successful completion of the course! We are glad to see that you have found it interesting, inspiring and applicable in your job. Thank you so much for your participation and collaboration on the course!
Regarding your course certification, could you please try to click on the button highlighted in the image attached?
If you are still not able to download it, could you please try to ensure that you have marked all modules as complete and that you have also done the course survey?
In addition, I attach @Viktoriia Brezheniuk to help us on this.
Hi Olalla, I don’t have this button on my homepage and the module 4 seems not completed even if all the activities are marked in green (attached the screenshot). The course survey was sent too.
Dear @Silvia Soccol,
Please, enter module four sections marked in the image attached and at the bottom should be a button that says “marked as completed”. I cannot show it because I have already done it and does not show. I believe that the pending one is the first section. Please, review and let me know if you have found it.
Thank you Olalla, it works now!
Great news!! I am happy to hear that!
Seasons Greetings from Eritrea, East Africa. Thank you so much to the course organizers, lecturers and all who contributed in this inspirational e-learning platform. It is really interestting and helpfull for the success of my future endevoure.
All the best,
Freweini
Hello @Freweini Negash,
Thank you for your message! We are glad to hear you have been enjoying the course content. May you apply this knowledge for designing and managing an impactful green business!
Congratulations for successfully completing the course!
Dear @Freweini Negash,
We appreciate your kind words and we would ike to thank you for the participation and collaboration during the course! We hope that this program has provided the main characteristics and tools for creating a green business idea and that you have found it inspiring. Our congratulations for the finalization of the course!
Hello Everyone,
Greetings from the east African Coastal village of Kenya – Kilifi County! Happy New Year! What a interesting way to celebrate new year with such a valuable gift course package like this! Honestly, I am super excited to be part of this success journey. It has really changed how i look at things, the green environment is even more “Greener” after the course and now am heading all the way to “Greener Pasture” Yeah!!!! Thank you all my fellow learners with your support and brilliant ideas that you have showcased. i would wish to have another forum in just few months to come and share our success, experiences and any hiccups after this course. Cheers!
Organically,
Mohamed Salim
Migombani Organic Farm
Hello @Mohamed Salim Mohamed,
Thank you for your very kind message! We are glad to hear you have been enjoying the course. Congratulations for your motivation to learn and may you design and manage an impactful green business!
Dear @Mohamed Salim Mohamed,
Congratulations for the successful finalization of the course! Thank you very much for the participation in the course and we hope that this couse has been interesting and inspiring for you towards developing a green business idea. We wish you the best of luck with the implementation of your business idea!
Hi Olalla
Very grateful for the kinder and very supportive guidance during my study lessons indeed this is an eye opener to some of us who had not received such an opportunity. I thank very you much and look forward for further cooperation in the near future. Now with this knowledge acquired am very armed to go out in world with confidence to explore and exploit the green economy. There is a lot of natural resources that God has given to us to make use of it through innovations. The green economy is the best way to go for the good of our future generation. There is a saying which goes “we have borrowed this planet from our children” I share with you the elevator pitch which I found so interested but one thing I have learn rehearse, rehearse, rehearse nothing sounds worse than a badly prepared elevator pitch so. Thank you very much for your cooperation once more.
Dear @Watuwa Paul Fredrick,
Thank you so much for your kind words and I am very happy to see that you have enjoyed so much the course content and that it has inspired you to improve your green business idea!
I really appreciate that you have shared your elevator pitch with us and I would like to give you my congratulations, first for being to brave to share your elevator pitch with us and second for the great job that you have done! I believe that you have summarized really well your idea, providing the key elements, explaining very well the problem and the solution that you are offering your customers!
I hope that the elevator pitch will be very useful for you in order to try to convince others to follow your project by investing on it or by being part of the company team.
I would like to thank you so much for your participation and interaction in the course and my congratulations for the successful finalization of the course!
Dear course participants, it’s really exciting to see that so many of you have downloaded your certificates! Congratulations!
For everyone who’s still working on the course, this is a friendly reminder that the course room will be closed at 8 am EST on 21 December. Please remember to download your certificate before then.
Thank you all!
Hello Viktoriia, Thank you all for the great work!
I have a little technical problem, though. I successfully downloaded my certificate but realised only my first name (Paul) shows on the certificate. My surname (Ofei-Manu) was not included. It is possible to help me rectify this situation? It would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
Hello @Paul,
In order to change your name on the certificate, please edit your name on the Profile -> Edit page. After changing your name, refresh the course room and click the “Download your certificate” button once again. The new certificate should have the correct name, as you have edited.
Thank you so much, Andreea! The problem has been addressed. Again, thanks!
Great! Thank you for confirming the change is available!
Hallo I found the course very interesting and hopefully I will use some of this information by creating a green business plan, hopefully soon after the pandemic. I completed the survey today and done all the quizzes but I can’t find the button ” Download your certificate” is not where suggested in the demo page. Can someone help please?
Hello @veronica balzanelli, I’ve checked your record: your certificate has been generated and is now available on the course home page. Could you please refresh the page and let us know if you can access it now? Congratulations on completing the course, and thank you for your participation!
Yes everything is ok now thanks a lot
Dear Veronica,
Thank you! We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed the course and will apply this knowledge to your green business plan. You may find the Download your certificate button at the home page of the course above next to the Course Content. Please make sure that you have all green checkmarks next to all modules. Please let me know if you have the blue button that says “DOWNLOAD YOUR CERTIFICATE.”
Hello and thank you for this great course. I have a technical question: I already downloaded my certificate but with this, I discovered that I haven’t write
my full name in my account, so my certificate only shows my first name. It was clearly a personal mistake, but I wonder if it is possible to rectify the certificate with my full name?
thanks in advance!
Hi Diana,
We just checked and it seems that you have been able to update your name from your profile settings. Please let us know, we’ll be glad to assist.
Regards!
Dear @Diana
Yes you may add your last name by editing your LfN profile. Click your photo in the top right hand corner and edit your profile, then re-download your certificate. Please let me know if it works for you!
It worked! thank you!!
Dear facilitators,
Thank you very for these amazing weeks, i have learnt a lot from the course and from your precious comments and feedbacks.
Hello Yves,
Thank you for your time and interest in learning! May you have the best of luck with your future green business!
Dear @Yves Olatoundji,
thank you so much for your participation in the course and congratulations for the
completion of the course! We are glad that you have found the course content
and discussion groups interesting!