Ashoka Fellows Collaborate on Combined Restaurant, Food Service Training Center, and Nonprofit Hub
Ashoka Fellow Saru Jayaraman ’s organization Restaurant Opportunities Centers United will open a COLORS restaurant in East Oakland, Calif., which doubles as training facilities to prepare workers for jobs in the fine-dining industry. ”There is an enormous segment of jobs in (the fine-dining)...
This Young African Social Entrepreneur Is Taking Her Social Business to the Next Level
Ellen Chilemba is something of a powerhouse. Recently named by Forbes as one of Africa’s most promising entrepreneurs under 30, her vision is to help women create paths out of poverty and to break the cycle of child marriage and lost potential. But Chilemba isn’t stopping there. Built into Tiwale’s...
From Subsistence Farming to Fair Trade - Empowering Women in Burkina Faso: Ashoka Fellow Marceline Ouedraogo
By improving the quality of Shea Butter production in Burkina Faso, Ashoka Fellow Marcelline Ouedraogo has enabled a significant increase in income to more than 3,000 women across the country. As a result, these women are now able to serve as more empowered and engaged members of their communities....
In Memory of Marcelline Ouédraogo
The global Ashoka community deeply mourns the loss of Marceline Ouédraogo of Burkina Faso, founder of Groupement Férminin Songtaaba. Elected as an Ashoka Fellow in 1996, Marceline helped transform shea butter, one of the few economic assets in Sahelian Africa controlled by women, from a less-than...
Duquesne Fednard has developed a new consumer financing model to make high-impact technologies accessible to Haitians with little to no savings/income. His model leverages economies of scale by aggregating consumer demand and contributes to overcoming the challenge of last mile distribution.
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Silvia is working to balance social development and community-building with environmental conservation, focusing on sustainability over the long term. Working from this vision, she is the first Brazilian to address biological imbalances caused by foreign plant species. Unlike the United States and...
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By working with the Mexican Government, Daniela is creating a new legislative framework that guarantees basic working and social standards to inmates in prison and incentivizes companies to formally employ convicts. Moreover, Daniela combines dignified, well-paid labor opportunities and a personal...
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Jane Sieh works with adolescent girls from the slums of Campinas, SP, offering them an alternative to life on the street.
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Nicolas Metro is redefining forest preservation as a human development issue, one that reaches far beyond environmental conservation. By positioning trees as central actors in creating economic opportunities and addressing social issues, Nicolas develops simple ways for companies and local...
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Tashka Yawanawá works to restore the dignity and sense of identity of indigenous communities in Brazil through a series of cultural revitalization efforts and innovative business partnerships—proving that maintaining cultural integrity need not conflict with achieving economic prosperity.
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