The Social Enterprise Development Programme (SEDP) was launched in July 2001 by the Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan in collaboration with McGill University, Canada with financial support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has established itself as one of the leading centers of excellence in management education in Pakistan since its establishment in 1985.

The Graduate School of Business Administration was the first school under the aegis of the University, and is widely recognized as the foremost business school in the country. Over the years this school has maintained its rigorous standards and merit based admission criteria. The B.Sc. (Hons) Programme, began in 1994 and provides broad-based quality education at the undergraduate level.

LUMS aims to improve the quality of education in Pakistan and its mission is to impact the theory, thinking, practice and performance in the areas of management, economics and computer science.

LUMS brings to this collaboration:

• a highly qualified and experienced permanent faculty;
• a faculty that is constantly engaged in undertaking research aimed at critical management and economic issues faced by the social sector, business and public organizations in Pakistan;
• a capacity to develop and train a cadre of business leaders.

McGill University possesses one of the oldest and distinguished management faculties in Canada. International by tradition, the McGill Management Faculty maintains a long reputation for cultural diversity in both its student body and faculty, and in its global approach to business.

The Faculty and its Centre for International Management Studies (CIMS) have been involved in numerous international development projects over the past decade and their main expertise lie in strengthening institutions' capacity to teach and train in management.

McGill University brings to this collaboration:

• a solid experience of institutional strengthening in Pakistan and other Asian countries;
• a demonstrated capacity to recruit Canadian private sector partners for international cooperation and involvement in private sector development;
• an extensive experience in developing business advisory services;
• a capacity to develop and train a cadre of business leaders.

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) supports sustainable development in developing countries in order to reduce poverty and to contribute to a more secure, equitable and prosperous world. Development is a complex, long-term process that involves all of the world's people, governments and organizations at all levels.

CIDA works with partners in the private and public sectors in Canada and in developing countries, and with international organizations and agencies.

CIDA supports foreign aid projects in more than 100 of the poorest countries of the world. Their objective is to work with developing countries and countries in transition to develop the tools to eventually meet their own needs.