Bentley Partners with City of Waltham to Establish Social Innovation Incubator
Bentley University has partnered with the City of Waltham to launch the Bentley Social Innovation Incubator, an accelerator program for small business owners and entrepreneurs in the Greater Waltham community who seek to leverage the power of business to benefit society.
Housed in the historic Waltham Water Works Shop, a two-story brick building on Felton Street, the Bentley Social Innovation Incubator was established via a one-year, $625,000 U.S. Small Business Administration grant championed by Massachusetts senators Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren. In its inaugural year, the incubator will provide hands-on guidance and support to five aspiring social entrepreneurs, helping them to develop, pitch and raise funds for their social business ventures.
“At Bentley University, we believe good business can impact more than just the bottom line — it can change the world,” says President E. LaBrent Chrite, who has worked previously with the World Bank, U.S. Department of State and international nonprofits to pioneer fresh approaches to poverty alleviation and economic development across Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. “Waltham has been our home for more than 50 years, and we are excited to partner with the City to help grow small businesses and address pressing social and environmental challenges in the Greater Waltham community.”
Beginning December 9, the Bentley Social Innovation Incubator will accept applications from individuals seeking to launch a social enterprise and will choose five promising projects to support. Successful applicants will receive comprehensive and personalized assistance, working with experienced Bentley faculty, staff, alumni and students, as well as local and national experts, to transform their ideas into sustainable businesses. They’ll receive hands-on guidance and support with building out a business plan, implementing effective branding and marketing strategies, securing funding streams and more.
“Starting a small business or social enterprise can seem a herculean task for anyone with limited access to financial and social capital,” says Jonathan White, associate professor of Sociology and executive director of the Bentley Service Learning and Civic Engagement Center (BSLCE), who will oversee the incubator, along with newly hired staff with extensive experience in the social innovation sector. “The Social Innovation Incubator allows Bentley to share our business expertise with the Greater Waltham community, expanding access to resources and opportunities while fostering an environment of innovation and collaboration for the greater good.”
Beyond helping to launch five new ventures, White notes that the incubator will serve as a gathering space for community members who want to use business to foster social change. In the coming year, he says, the incubator will host a series of events with established entrepreneurs, for-profit and nonprofit business leaders and community innovators that he hopes will engage both aspiring and established small business owners.