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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Business Strategies for Social Impact by University of Pennsylvania

4.6
stars
534 ratings

About the Course

When is it good business practice to invest for social good? What are the most innovative and effective business strategies for developing positive social impact around the world? Designed by renowned Wharton professors Katherine Klein and Chris Geczy to help individuals, organizations, and investors bring about societal change, this course introduces the fundamentals of impact investing, and developing a business strategy that drives social impact. You’ll learn how to become a leader who cultivates purpose and inspires change, measure societal impact through evidence-based models, and invest in ventures effectively and meaningfully. By the end of this course, you’ll have a deep understanding of the realities of leading an organization with purpose, and be able to build successful strategies that bring impactful change to the world....

Top reviews

SS

Jul 14, 2021

Very informative course enriched with interviews from impact leaders that shared their challenges on their way and how to overcome. Introduction into Impact Investing is eye-opening. Great course!

DE

Dec 21, 2020

This is a very awesome course. Although it is a relatively new field for me, I have really learned so much about social impact and investment in general. I really hope to put this to good use.

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1 - 25 of 134 Reviews for Business Strategies for Social Impact

By Joao R F

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May 6, 2019

Great course, except for module 4 witch has a very different style, excessively technical for people starting on the subject (would trade for the EVPA kind of approach to impact investing)

Still I would defenetly recommend the course for people that want to start to understand more on social impact.

By Jeroen U

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Feb 3, 2018

I really enjoyed the first three modules since they were delivered in a manner even a person without any background knowledge on the topic could follow and understand them. This was fully different for the fourth module on Impact Investment. I really had to 'listen' between the lines to be able to follow what was being said. Too much use of jargon. And definitely you need some prior knowledge on Finance/Investments. Also, I experienced several issues with the quizzes where answers were marked wrong which were obviously correct (I checked the course materials and even online sources). And even worse, some answers which were correct in a first try, where marked wrong on a second try. It seems like a bug to me. Since this is a continuous course, available to start at any time, I feel the support on this course is accordingly. The support staff is not getting back (quickly enough) on questions asked on the Discussion Forum.

That being said, I would still recommend this course since at the core of it the topics being discussed are of great interest to those who want are interested in doing well in business as well as doing good at the same time.

By Dhinesh A D

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May 1, 2020

Great course on how Business works according to demographics, investment type, interest of the stakeholders and the strategies used. Lectures offered on Impact Investing were more useful in improving one's basic managerial skills.

By Catherine C L

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Jun 23, 2020

A course for that is practical and straight forward in the delivery of management framework, governance framework for managers or investor to understand how impact investment benefits are delivered and measured .

By Vincent P

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May 2, 2020

Very interesting course regarding the social impact on business. A course that any business leaders should take to better understand the impact that social measures have on the business.

By Pete H

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Jan 1, 2018

Great course; very insightful look into how business and other organizations can effect positive social impact in the course of achieving their objectives and completing routines.

By Karin L

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Apr 22, 2020

Modules 1-3 are spectacular and very informative with a fantastic professor; also easy to absorb no matter your baseline understanding of the topic. Module 4 is another level of difficulty, made more confusing by the teaching style, which is full of run-on and clause-ridden sentences and lack of detailed slides. I already have an MBA and it was hard to follow, so I imagine for those with no foundation, this would be near impossible to fully absorb.

By Amir K

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Mar 25, 2020

The first 3 modules were very ordered in concept with short and summarized concepts . The last model instructor was talking too fast and didn't run summarizing notes or ordered presentation and each session was 5 times longer than the one in modules 1,2,3. Both professors are amazing, but you should think about aligning presentation format

By Jonhny G G R

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Jul 17, 2021

Relevant, well developed and simply amazing. I finished the entire "Business Strategies for a Better World" program, and this course specifically was much more well developed and to be honest, difficult, than the previous ones. At week 4, Dr. Gates mercilessly bombards you with technical terminologies within dense concepts and ideas, so It required much more patience, attention, and TIME to really understand (or not) what he was talking about... but in the end it is a very satisfying feeling to look up and remember everything you learned about the topic.

This program was life-changing, with no exaggeration at all. Of course I will revisit the material several times in the future to really understand each little detail before I can fully think I properly understand it, but as for now, I am happy to be able to say that I can grasp the topic Social Impact. Thanks for the opportunity and for all the professors involved!

By Mayank A

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Apr 29, 2020

Great Job by the university and the instructor. I loved all the videos of this course. The instructor explained everything in simple terms as well as quite thoroughly and use of interviews with the people who are already working in the field supplemented the content very well. There are a couple of things that I think can make this course even more valuable such as in-depth analysis of any particular company and comprehensive view of the whole social impact business landscape. Some hyperlinks after each video related to the content for deeper understanding will also add substantially to the output.

By Yohan H

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Jun 1, 2020

This course was an absolutely unique learning experience that may turn to be a valuable asset in an understanding of the corporate social impact. I really enjoyed Prof. Katherine Klein's lectures. The way she structured her course contents made much easy for students to learn. I really wish there is more opportunity to learn from her in my academic journey as well as on my career path in advance. In the meantime, the way Prof. Christopher Geczy delivers his lecture was not well organized as Prof. Klein does. Maybe he knows a lot but, I hope his teaching method sharpens a little further.

By Maanav K

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Oct 20, 2020

This course has a direct relationship and answers questions I have on the sustainability and impact of my non-profit organization, MyJal.org, I founded when I was 6 years old. I have recently started questioning the financial sustainability of organizations with social impact purposes.

Big thanks to Professors Ms. Katherine Klein and Mr. Christopher Geczy, they have explained this so well that I feel like learning more from them and apply it to MyJal.org.

By Musambo M

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Sep 19, 2020

All the answers & direction I needed. Just the right education & skills I required to understand how to run a business responsibly & be a purpose driven leader. Course content is good, the depth cannot be underrated, the lecturers are good & the material is clear. It is deep enough & hard enough. Thank you for this course. I now see things differently. You solved my problem. Thank you.

By tnguyen8476

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Feb 11, 2022

The course is very helpful to me. First 3 modules are well-instructed, easy to follow up and understand for me as a non-native English speaker. Module 4 is more difficult to understand and I have to replay several times for each video. and read the slides several times to understand the Instructor. I am looking for a more comprehensive courses in Impact Investing subject. Thank you.

By Amartya D

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Apr 2, 2020

As someone interested to work in the social impact space and currently working with a public sector undertaking in the energy space in India, I found this course to be very relevant and useful. It would have been great if the instructors could share more readings. The 4th-week study requires some knowledge about finance, which fortunately I had. Great course overall!

By Hannah L

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Jan 4, 2021

I really enjoyed this course and the instructors. Professor Katherine Klein was very knowledgeable and her presentations were thoughtful. I can see why she is the Vice President of for the Warton Social Impact initiate. Out of the 4 courses in this certificate, I feel like this course is what I'll be referring back to a lot. I will definitely recommend this course.

By Tracey T

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Dec 3, 2018

This course helps me to understand the area of impact investing in a more systematic way. I appreciated to have an opportunity to learn. I would like to further apply what I learn in my career in this area. It also provided a chance to know more people in this area. Overall, I find it helpful and want to explore more in this space. Thank you Katherine and Chris!

By Adwait P S

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Apr 5, 2020

This is one of the best courses I have done. Simply, because difficult concepts were explained in the most simple and "easy to understand" language. There were a lot case studies through which the practical applications of the concepts could be understood.

Overall it is fantastic, course and I highly recommend it to all those who want to make a global impact.

By DK S

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Apr 26, 2020

I really enjoyed and learnt a lot from this course! Even-though the final week phase is hard as its more on technical language, but yeah, its worth every time and money spent! I really enjoyed and like the way of the Prof. Katherine Klein guide in the simplest explanation

By Chloe W

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Oct 15, 2018

Fantastic course - it wasn't padded at all with generic information. I really feel like I learned and have tangible models that I can apply to a career in social impact. I also really appreciated the numerous real life examples to illustrate points made in the lectures.

By Dina A K

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Jul 13, 2020

Wonderful course in general. However, I found Module 4 a little challenging, it required me to brush up on previous knowledge and definitions and that wasn't easy - in addition to US referencing being an international applicant. Nonetheless, Thank you!

By Bernadette C

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May 8, 2018

I would recommend this course to anyone who has an interest in social entrepreneurship or anyone who wants an in dept understanding on measuring social impact. It is extremely informative, engaging and a challenge.

By 刘峰

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Feb 13, 2019

Very helpful courses, conceptual knowledge and interviews give us a deeper understanding of the concepts. At the same time, it also has a deep reference to the practice process of public welfare entrepreneurship!

By Alua S

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Dec 14, 2018

One of the best courses I took on Coursera. Very insightful and up to date with current developments in the social impact sector. Highly recommend to anyone willing to get a big picture of what social impact is.