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HarvardX: Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies

4.6 stars
218 ratings

Explore how entrepreneurship and innovation tackle complex social problems in emerging economies.

6 weeks
3–5 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Free
Optional upgrade available

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113,602 already enrolled! After a course session ends, it will be archivedOpens in a new tab.
Starts Nov 15
Ends Dec 11
Starts Dec 11

About this course

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This business and management course, taught by Harvard Business School professor Tarun Khanna, takes an inter-disciplinary approach to understanding and solving complex social problems. You will learn about prior attempts to address these problems across the emerging markets, identify points of opportunity for smart entrepreneurial efforts, and propose and develop your own creative solutions. The focus of this course is on individual agency—what can you do to address a defined problem? The creative process starts with immersion in the problem-at-hand and the harnessing of diverse perspectives.

The course then touches on issues related to financing, scaling up of operations, branding, the management of property rights, and the creation of appropriate metrics for assessing progress and social value, in the fast-growing but institutionally compromised settings of emerging markets.

The settings are diverse, sectoral (healthcare, online commerce, fintech, infrastructure) and geographic (India and South Asia, China, Africa, Latin America). But the emphasis is less on comprehensive coverage than on developing a way of thinking with a bias-to-action.

At a glance

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcripts: اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ, Deutsch, English, Español, Français, हिन्दी, Bahasa Indonesia, Português, Kiswahili, తెలుగు, Türkçe, 中文
  • Associated skills:Value Systems, Operations, Social Issue, Innovation, LESS, Infrastructure, Property Rights, Management, Financial Technology (FinTech), Branding

What you'll learn

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  • An awareness of the opportunities for entrepreneurship in fast-growing emerging markets
  • An understanding of a conceptual framework for evaluating such opportunities
  • An appreciation of the types of problems that lend themselves to entrepreneurial solutions

More about this course

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HarvardX Honor Code

HarvardX requires individuals who enroll in its courses on edX to abide by the terms of the edX honor code. HarvardX will take appropriate corrective action in response to violations of the edX honor code, which may include dismissal from the HarvardX course; revocation of any certificates received for the HarvardX course; or other remedies as circumstances warrant. No refunds will be issued in the case of corrective action for such violations. Enrollees who are taking HarvardX courses as part of another program will also be governed by the academic policies of those programs.

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Harvard University and HarvardX are committed to maintaining a safe and healthy educational and work environment in which no member of the community is excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination or harassment in our program. All members of the HarvardX community are expected to abide by Harvard policies on nondiscrimination, including sexual harassment, and the edX Terms of Service. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact harvardx@harvard.edu and/or report your experience through the edX contact form.

HarvardX Research Statement

HarvardX pursues the science of learning. By registering as an online learner in an HX course, you will also participate in research about learning. Read our research statement to learn more.

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