Generative Entrepreneurship Certificate

Complete in 6–12 Months

Build Ventures That Regenerate Communities and the Commons

About the Generative Entrepreneurship Certificate

The Generative Entrepreneurship Certificate is a program offered through Meridian University's Center for Transformative Learning. Designed for aspiring and current entrepreneurs who seek to build ventures that are innovative, sustainable, and socially impactful, the certificate draws on Meridian's graduate curriculum in generative entrepreneurship and creative enterprise to provide a comprehensive foundation in regenerative approaches to venture creation.

As a certificate participant, you will take courses from the anchor and other parts of Meridian's graduate curriculum offered during the period of your enrollment. This means you will engage with the same rigorous, faculty-led coursework that graduate students experience, tailored to the certificate's focus on generative entrepreneurship principles and practices.

What is Generative Entrepreneurship?

Generative Entrepreneurship is an approach to venture creation and business development that goes beyond positive social impact. While social entrepreneurship entails social innovation in the service of positive social impact, Generative Entrepreneurship extends this vision to include regenerating the commons and furthering collective transformative learning that impacts future generations. Instead of exploiting the commons by externalizing costs, Generative Entrepreneurs seed and grow the commons, combining technological and social innovation with cultural innovation.

Meridian's generative entrepreneurship curriculum emphasizes the capabilities required for launching new entrepreneurial initiatives grounded in these principles. Coursework engages practices, methods, and topics including regenerating the commons, transformative innovation, Theory U, and caring and well-being economies. Sample courses such as Generative Dimensions of Innovation, Presence and Purpose, Visioning a Generative Initiative, Regenerative Value Propositions, Economic Value of Caring, and Cultural Innovation and Cultural Leadership provide certificate participants with both the conceptual frameworks and practical tools needed to create enterprises that are commercially viable and aligned with the common good.

The Need for Generative Entrepreneurs

In a global economy marked by rapid change and complex social challenges, entrepreneurship that generates shared prosperity and addresses pressing needs has become increasingly vital. Entrepreneurship is a major driver of social and economic transformation, and generative entrepreneurs serve as catalysts for innovation across sectors -- from technology and healthcare to education and the arts -- building enterprises that regenerate communities and create value for future generations.