Staff from the School of Business and Management, and the wider University, are here to support your entrepreneurial goals.
Director: Dr Joanne J. Zhang is a Reader in Entrepreneurship and the founding director of the Entrepreneurship hub and QM social venture fund - the first student-led social venture fund investing in student-led social ventures in the UK. She is the Winner of Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year, Triple E European Award 2022. She was also awarded the QM President and Principal's Education Excellence Award in 2021. Driven by her prior entrepreneurial experience in China and the UK, Joanne’s scholarship and teaching interests are entrepreneurship, innovation, and entrepreneurship education.
Gloria Appiah is a lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and serves as the Deputy Director of the SBM Entrepreneurship Hub. In this role, she supports various programs and activities aimed at fostering student entrepreneurship. Gloria is dedicated to helping new and small businesses thrive, with a particular focus on those that positively impact their owners and stakeholders.Beyond her work at QMUL, Gloria is a co-founder of Ezer Mamapreneurs, a social enterprise that empowers Ghanaian women from disadvantaged economic backgrounds to start and grow their businesses. In addition to providing strategic oversight, she offers business coaching to help these women develop an entrepreneurial mindset and successfully manage their enterprises.
Faculty members: A number of staff members from the School of Business and Management have interest and experience in supporting entrepreneurial activities. Meet our academic staff members.
Advisory board: The Entrepreneurship Hub has an advisory board consisting of leading social innovators, serial entrepreneurs and alumni from the School of Business and Management. These include representatives from Affinity, The Big Issue, Trust for London, Six and Green Purposes Company.
The QM Business and Enterprise Society is a student-led society that allows students to explore their career options whilst building memorable and long-lasting friendships. They work to create a community of future innovators in business by organising a range of talks, workshops and social events, including the annual Social Entrepreneurship Summit. Students interested in learning more can follow the society on Instagram (@qmbes).
Entrepreneurial mentors: We are always looking for voluntary mentors to nurture student venture capitalists who take part in the Queen Mary Social Venture Fund.
Who: Experienced professionals with expertise in entrepreneurship and innovation, socially responsible and impact investment, or venture capital.When: It is expected that a mentor would spend around 1 hour per week with their mentee, for four weeks, during semester B (Feb – April).What: You will be mentoring and coaching a small group of student investors, as they work to find a potential student-led social venture, and organise a panel event on social entrepreneurship and impact. You will provide guidance and feedback on how students approach their tasks. The mentoring sessions can be done either face-to-face or virtually.If you are interested in becoming a mentor for our student enterprise projects, please email ent-hub@qmul.ac.uk.