The Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill last week launched a business accelerator geared toward speeding the growth of firms pledged toward meeting environmental and social objectives. The business incubator is believed to be the first of its kind.
The UNC Business Accelerator for Sustainable Entrepreneurship (BASE), created by Kenan-Flagler’s Center for Sustainable Enterprise (CSE), is designed to help bring entrepreneurs together with resources – ranging from industry experts to capital – that are focused on sustainability and can help turn their ideas into viable businesses.
“BASE will benefit entrepreneurs, UNC and the wider community alike,” Katie Kross, CSE executive director, said in a statement announcing the incubator’s launch.
The incubator will help minimize costs and inject expertise in the startup phase, increasing entrepreneurs’ chances of long-term success, according to Kross. UNC students, meanwhile, will benefit from interdisciplinary experiential learning focused on integrating environmental and social considerations into all aspects of business. In these and other ways, BASE will raise the visibility of sustainable issues, benefiting society as a whole, she continued.
Currently in its pilot phase, BASE is working with seven early-stage sustainable businesses based in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Triangle. They include
• CaraGreen, a distributor of environmentally sustainable building materials
• Counter Culture Coffee, a fair trade micro-roasting coffee company
• North Carolina Choices, a provider of sustainably and locally produced meat and poultry
• PVee, a provider of large-scale turnkey solar energy solutions
• Trinity Design/Build, a provider of sustainable architectural design, building and preservation services
• WaterPLUS, a developer of a water purification device for use in the developing world
• Zebra Crossings, an online fair trade wedding boutique
The entrepreneurs involved in these businesses will have BASE advisory board members as their mentors. They also will participate in networking events, training and workshops; join a network of other sustainable entrepreneurs; and gain access to funding opportunities and other resources.
The pilot phase will run through September 2008, at which point BASE will enter its full-scale phase. This phase will include a physical incubator with room for 10 businesses.
“BASE is the right idea at the right time,” said advisory board member John Hardin, deputy director and chief policy analyst for the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Office of Science and Technology, in a statement. “By drawing on the expertise of its advisory board and aggregating and connecting key resources, BASE gives businesses the support they need to address the triple bottom line” of financial profitability, social equity and environmental sustainability, he continued.
To learn more about BASE, click here.
