Sankara Eye Care Institutions aims to eradicate preventable and curable blindness in India by providing free high quality eye care to millions of rural poor. Eco-fuel Africa converts locally sourced farm and municipal waste into clean cooking fuel and organic fertilizers. Medical Technology Transfer and Services (MTTS) develops, manufactures, and distributes durable devices for intensive newborn care for poor communities in Vietnam.

These three well-established "social enterprises"-- non-profit organizations or for-profit businesses that seek to address social and environmental problems--are among the 16 that have been chosen for the 12th annual Global Social Benefit Institute (GSBI®) Accelerator program at Santa Clara University.

Starting next month, the acclaimed 10-month program pairs one leader from each social enterprise with experienced, start-up savvy Silicon Valley executives and advisers. The aim is to help the entrepreneurs focus on and solve the largest obstacles keeping their businesses from "scaling," or reaching more beneficiaries in their home countries or new ones.

"This year we received the strongest applicant pool of leading social entrepreneurs to date," said Cassandra Staff, GSBI's program director. "This speaks to the value of the GSBI Accelerator program and the impact the program has on preparing mature entrepreneurs for additional investment capital and growth."

Sponsors of the GSBI Accelerator program include: eBay Inc. Foundation, Applied Materials, Skoll Foundation, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, and the GSBI Endowment Fund supported by Jeff and Karen Miller and Howard and Alida Charney.

After six months of online work with GSBI staff and two Silicon Valley mentors apiece, the cohort will come to Santa Clara University's campus Aug. 14 for nine days of intensive training that culminates in an "Investor Showcase" Aug. 21. The showcase has become an inspiring event attended by hundreds of impact investors and others interested in accelerating the work of social entrepreneurs.

The 16 organizations in this year's GSBI class operate in countries including Mexico, South Africa, Jordan, and Vietnam. Among the other members of the GSBI Class of 2014 are: a company that makes biodigesters for small scale farmers in Mexico; a Peruvian employer of unskilled workers delivering data services to international clients; a South African company that teaches disadvantaged youth to be self-directed learners and chart careers; and a Chinese provider of renewable solar energy. A full list of class members can be found at http://www.scu.edu/socialbenefit/entrepreneurship/gsbi/alumni/current.cfm

The list of GSBI mentors can be found at http://www.scu.edu/socialbenefit/entrepreneurship/gsbi/mentor.cfm.

Reporters interested in interviewing any of the entrepreneurs or Silicon Valley mentors while they are in town may contact Deborah Lohse of SCU Media Relations, dlohse@scu.edu or 408-554-5121.

A fuller version of this release is available at http://www.scu.edu/news/releases/release.cfm?c=18503

About Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California's Silicon Valley, offers its more than 8,800 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, theology, and engineering, plus master's and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master's universities, California's oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.

SCU Media Relations
Deborah Lohse, 408-554-5121
dlohse@scu.edu
or
CSTS Marketing Manager
Jaime Gusching, 408-551-6048
jgusching@scu.edu