ECSEL is a fellowship program meant for the social entrepreneurs in China and is helping its fellows since 2009 by providing them training, mentorship, community building, and investment. Each year, the group selects a new cohort of ECSEL fellows, and provides them fully subsidized training trips in the United States and China, intensive professional support, and a lasting community of peers.
ECSEL is especially looking for an entrepreneur with a business that works to address social or environmental problems in China. You can share your project with fellow social entrepreneurs, investors, and community members through ECSEL’s national social enterprise directory.
History of ECSEL
In 2009, investor and philanthropist William Schoenfeld invited a cohort of 11 Chinese students to attend the annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU) conference, held that year at the University of Texas, Austin. Mr. Schoenfeld, a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, wanted to help connect China’s top young entrepreneurs with global leaders in social entrepreneurship and investing.
In 2010, the Schoenfeld Foundation formally launched the ECSEL fellowship and that year, a cohort of 30 top Chinese undergraduate and MBA students travelled to the United States for a week of intensive business training. At that year’s CGIU conference, former US President Bill Clinton publicly honored the ECSEL program for its work supporting Chinese social enterprise.
Since 2010, ECSEL has continued to grow. ECSEL no longer works exclusively with students; any entrepreneur working in China is now eligible to apply. Today, three years since the founding, ECSEL continues to provide China’s top social entrepreneurs with the resources and training they need to create outstanding social businesses.
Guiding Principles
Members of ECSEL believe that:
- businesses can help make the world a better place.
- young people in China (and anywhere in the world) should not have to choose between making money and helping the world
- resources like funding, training, mentorship, and fellowship can make a critical difference in helping a social enterprise succeed.
Members of ECSEL don’t believe that:
- a company’s only metric for success is how much money it can make.
- only NGOs can solve social and environmental problems.
- entrepreneurs should focus on gaining experience by working at a big company, rather than starting their own projects.
About ESCEL Fellow program
Each person applies to ECSEL as an individual, and there is no limitation on the number of people applying from the same company. Because ECSEL supports you as an individual, even if you leave your current project you remain part of the fellowship program.
While ECSEL provides its fellows with one year of intensive training and mentorship, the fellowship is a lifelong experience. Even after graduation, fellows are provided with resources like professional services, working space, and even investment.
Students can apply to ECSEL, and so can anyone else. ECSEL is particularly interested in supporting young entrepreneurs.
There is no fee for applying to ECSEL, nor is there a fee for becoming a fellow. The entire ECSEL program is fully subsidized for each fellow, and is made possible by the Schoenfeld Foundation.
For more information, visit this link.
