Origin

The seeds for SAFEER were sown when Beyster Institute, University of California, USA with the support of U. S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Beyster Institute, University of California, San Diego, USA and Centre for Small and Medium Enterprise Growth and Development Finance (CESMED), India launched a program to share innovative entrepreneurship training methods for South Asian University faculty. The Program aimed to introduce a number of highly creative and effective experiential approaches to teaching entrepreneurship, incorporating case studies, business plans and marketing exercises in the classroom. Participants for the program included senior faculty members from business schools in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The first phase of the program was held at University of California San Diego (UCSD) during 7th to 13th December 2005. During this program, on 12th December, 2005 it was unanimously decided to form the South Asia Forum for Entrepreneurship Education and Research (SAFEER).

SAFEER aims to provide a platform for entrepreneurship teachers, trainers and researchers to disseminate learning, knowledge, and encourage joint activities among its member institutions to nurture indigenous entrepreneurial talent. During the first meeting of the founders it was also decided to locate the Secretariat of SAFEER at Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.