Back to Innovative Finance: Hacking finance to change the world
University of Cape Town

Innovative Finance: Hacking finance to change the world

To address global poverty - do we really not have enough resources or do we not have the right tools to allocate our resources? The tools of finance, when applied correctly, can be an enabler of social and environmental outcomes. This course is designed to give you the ability to build innovative financing strategies that work towards outcomes such as financial inclusion, access to energy, and access to education. The innovative finance process has five key components. It starts with identifying the outcomes you are looking to achieve and next moves on to due diligencing your issue area using techniques like design thinking to make sure you are designing with the end user. Next, you must map all of the resources available for your outcome and then discover opportunities to augment these through business model innovation, multi-stakeholder partnerships, and innovative financial structures. Finally, the last step is to put all of these pieces together to design an innovating financing strategy. Each week dives into a component of the process using examples and real case studies from social entrepreneurs, non-profits, development funders, impact investors, governments, foundations, and more. Over five weeks you’ll learn about new types of revenue creation, financing approaches, business models, and partnerships. By the end of the course, you’ll have the ability to hack finance for social change.

Status: Financial Inclusion
Status: Finance
BeginnerCourse19 hours

Featured reviews

AR

4.0Reviewed Jul 25, 2018

A well-packed course delivering essential knowledge of unique financing options for social projects.

BB

5.0Reviewed Jun 15, 2020

this was a really great course full of usefull information which i can use for so many things in the business and finance sector.

MS

5.0Reviewed Aug 27, 2020

Very much structured and precise contents. Learned a lot of new concepts. I'm grateful to the team. Thank you!

MM

5.0Reviewed May 18, 2020

This course fulfilled my expectations on learning some finance aspects to reach funds for a social enterprise I am heading for. Totally recommended!

AM

5.0Reviewed Feb 27, 2020

Nice course for understanding the social responsibility as a tool to enhance the financing activities in the current scenerio.

GA

5.0Reviewed Nov 17, 2024

I have taken the course and finalized all the terms and conditions for certification. But, I couldn't get the certificate. Please, Is there any way out?

KL

5.0Reviewed Oct 17, 2018

I loved this course! I learned so much about innovative financing and strategy formation around social entrepreneurship.

DE

5.0Reviewed Mar 30, 2021

The course helped me understand innovative ways of financing and provided me with the tools and skills to further develop and apply in my professional career.

ML

5.0Reviewed Sep 26, 2019

Excellent course with good case studies, reference materials and active learners participation.

SA

5.0Reviewed Nov 2, 2023

Excellent and practical delivery of lessons to help learners grasp the core content in a relatable manner.

JM

5.0Reviewed Aug 28, 2022

The course was a real eye opener in the field of social impact and how to fund the project. very insightful indeed. thank you Coursera and UCT.

KR

4.0Reviewed Mar 1, 2025

The course is very good and throws a different facet of finance to help our sisters/ brothers, who belong to the god of poverty, universally

All reviews

Showing: 20 of 57

David Karasik
3.0
Reviewed Sep 14, 2020
María Isabel Rivera Rivera
5.0
Reviewed Jun 10, 2020
AAYUSH MAHIPAL
5.0
Reviewed Feb 28, 2020
Kevin Power
5.0
Reviewed Mar 26, 2018
Diana Taty Azman
5.0
Reviewed Jun 15, 2020
Ka Lun LEE
5.0
Reviewed Aug 29, 2019
Pat
5.0
Reviewed Jan 22, 2018
Ishara Maharaj
5.0
Reviewed Sep 9, 2019
Vandana Thottoli
5.0
Reviewed May 11, 2020
Link your Synapses
5.0
Reviewed May 23, 2021
Md. Rashedun Nabi
5.0
Reviewed Apr 11, 2019
Guillaume Gevrey
5.0
Reviewed May 29, 2018
Dieter Eckhart
5.0
Reviewed Mar 31, 2021
Girma Ajebi
5.0
Reviewed Nov 18, 2024
Macarena
5.0
Reviewed May 19, 2020
joseph mukupe
5.0
Reviewed Aug 29, 2022
Bianca
5.0
Reviewed Jun 15, 2020
Thulani Mbana
5.0
Reviewed Jun 16, 2020
Ntuthuko M Mbandlwa
5.0
Reviewed Nov 17, 2021
Kelsey Lawler
5.0
Reviewed Oct 18, 2018