Empathy Meets Enterprise

The Bauer College Musa and Khaleda Dakri Center for Economic Inclusion (Dakri CEI) has been recognized as a finalist for the 2025 Entrepreneurship Center Global Impact Award by the International Council for Small Business (ICSB).

The Global Impact Awards recognize outstanding educators, programs and entrepreneurship centers from around the world that exemplify excellence, innovation and impact that empower and inspire the next generation of leaders.

“The best way to learn is to teach, and the best way to teach is to mentor.”

Saleha Khumawala, Professor and Executive Director of the Dakri CEI

The honor of being named a finalist for this award shows the Dakri Center’s commitment to nurturing the growth and advancement of small businesses on a local and global level, a mission that they share with ICSB.

The Dakri Center was developed with the goal of fostering economic inclusion through experiential learning that supports the local Houston business community and up-start entrepreneurs.

The center’s flagship program, Stimulating Urban Renewal through Entrepreneurship (SURE), has been praised for its revolutionary and sustainable model of entrepreneurship education and community engagement.

The SURE educational model helps students develop an entrepreneurial mindset and human centric skills as they mentor and guide local entrepreneurs in building a business plan. This model supports the economic growth of Houston while providing students with an innovative, experiential learning opportunity.

“The best way to learn is to teach, and the best way to teach is to mentor,” Professor and Executive Director of the Dakri CEI Saleha Khumawala said. “This ecosystem that we create between the students, businesses and communities is a very powerful network.”

The SURE Program has had a huge global expansion over the years by supporting universities and educational institutions seeking to embed similar experiential models in their programs, Khumawala said. It is an entirely self-sustaining model that is transferable across borders, she added, because of its ethical nature helping launch businesses and the positive ripple effect it has on our society.

“The impact this program has on the community and their families can’t be measured,” she said. “Neither can the skills our students develop. The qualitative impact is so much more valuable than the funding it brings to the college.”

Being named a finalist for the Global Impact Award speaks volumes alone, Khumawala said. The world recognition that comes with this award would further establish Bauer as a globally recognized business school and reaffirm the positive impact that SURE has had locally and internationally, she added.

To learn more about the SURE Program and the Dakri CEI, click here.