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2011 warfen mit erstmals einen systematischen Blick auf die Branche Social Entrepreneurship und fragten uns: Vor welchen Hürden stehen soziale Problemlöser*innen heute? Die im Sommer 2011 durchgeführte Expertenbefragung zeigt zentrale Hürden für soziale Innovation in Deutschland auf und präsentiert...

Earlier this month, Ashoka President Diana Wells was recognized for her role as an innovation champion by winning the first Social Innovation Champion Award at the fourth annual Accelerating Social Entrepreneurship (ASE) conference. Wells—together with Marion Morino, co-founder and chairman of...

Ashoka Fellow Albina Ruiz is not afraid of cleaning up garbage. Many of us take efficient waste removal for granted. Yet, in some parts of the world, refuse is not effectively managed. This has long been the case in Lima, Peru. The problem was particularly severe in Lima’s northern district. In 1995...

For the first time in the magazine’s 94-year history, Forbes has assembled a list of the top 30 social entrepreneurs tackling the world’s most intractable problems — and 10 Ashoka Fellows made the list. The unwavering innovators recognized as members of the Forbes Impact 30 are an impressive bunch...

Social businesses make up just 10 percent of European ventures. The European Commission wants to see more. Through the new Social Business Initiative, the Commission plans to create an ecosystem conducive to social businesses, in part by facilitating access to funding. The belief is that more...

The first time I heard about Ashoka in 1998, it sounded to me like fantasy. I liked very much the introductory discussions with Ashoka coordinators, long, deep, going to details... These discussions raised my confidence in Ashoka principles and their viability. At that time my country (Slovakia) was...

Never before have financial indicators dominated news like today, but perhaps the most important indicator for competitiveness of our societies remains human: How many changemakers are there? At Ashoka, we talk about making a world where Everyone is a Changemaker—empowering people to engineer social...

Citizen-sector financing is becoming more sophisticated and nuanced. Philanthropy wonk Lucy Bernholz discusses it as the “New Social Economy,” citing the emergence of impact investing, B corps, and sidecar funds as components in this new landscape. Ashoka has been an architect and pioneer of many of...

Social entrepreneurs are often credited with having a one-track mind. There is no barrier strong enough or challenge tall enough to stop these positive deviants from achieving their goals. For Ashoka Fellow Tri Mumpuni, not even the harrowing experience of being held hostage by separatist rebels in...

Baseer Naveed is a senior citizen-sector leader in Pakistan. In 2004, in reprisal for Baseer's effective advocacy on behalf of slum communities in Karachi, his son Faraz was abducted, tortured, and murdered, his body left in a lot next to Baseer's office. Later, Baseer’s wife and other son were...