Inspired by the learnings of the Program “Promoting Social Entrepreneurship” in Latin America, Ashoka, Lefil Consulting and the Swiss Development Corporation have come together to support and accelerate the emergence and growth of social entrepreneurship in Africa. This led to the ideation of the SEA-Change Program, which aims at supporting social entrepreneurs leading the charge for solutions to Africa’s most pressing challenges, from agriculture, to education. 

The program adopts a holistic and integrated approach to identify, develop, grow, and multiply the impact of social enterprises in the region, throughout their lifecycle, supporting them in their evolution from promising, emerging innovators, to successful ventures having large-scale, if not systemic impact in their field. 

The most important activities under this program are:  

  • Selecting New Ashoka Fellows across Southern, Eastern and North Africa. Ashoka Fellows are leading social entrepreneurs who are pioneering new ideas to alleviate poverty and increase income amongst some of the most vulnerable communities;
  • Enhancing the capacity of social entrepreneurs to raise funds, by helping them become investment-ready through the African Social Investment Accelerator;
  • Accelerating exponential impact by supporting social entrepreneurs to develop clear systems-change trajectories. Learn more about the SEA-Change Globalizer;
  • Catalysing the role of private sector companies and industries to invest in social impact – internally and externally.

Phase 1 of the African SEA-Change Program started in September 2017 and will last until 2021.

Sea-Change: a substantial change in perspective, especially one which affects a group or society at large, on a particular issue. 

Get to know the Social Entrepreneurs

Social Entrepreneurs and Social businesses from across Africa are participating across different programs. We're excited to showcase them below. 

Claire Reid (Ashoka Fellow)

Claire reimagines the value chain behind food production as being led by individuals and communities, enabling South Africans of all ages and backgrounds...
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Tracey Chambers (Ashoka Fellow)

Tracey is economically empowering the most marginalised unemployed mothers and fathers in township communities of South Africa.
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Susannah Farr (Ashoka Fellow)

Susannah is providing leadership and life skills education to young people in schools through a structured extra-curricular model...
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Megan Mukuria (Ashoka Fellow)

Megan founded Zana Africa to ensure that young girls are able to navigate with dignity their puberty years and accompanying challenges related to changes...
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Sylvia Banda (Ashoka Fellow)

Sylvia Banda is working to combat the low demand for locally-produced, traditional food in Zambia by creating entrepreneurial hubs that guarantee markets for these goods...
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Jonathan Mativo (Ashoka Fellow)

Jonathan realized that simple technology training can help individuals from rural populations not only find jobs, but also become self-employed by starting their entreprise...
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Joseph Nkandu (Ashoka Fellow)

Joseph founded NUCAFE, a social entrepreneurial farmer-owned organization that delivers high-end services to over 1.5 million smallholder coffee farmers...
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Dumisani Nyoni (Ashoka Fellow)

Dumisani has created an innovative and community-based model enabling smallholders to detain the ownership of their whole value chain.
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The Sea-Change Globalizer helped me find the leverage-point in our model that has the greatest systemic impact, and how to think about equity and valuations of our business going forward

Dumisani Nyoni
Ashoka Fellow, on the Ashoka Globalizer program
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