What first motivated you to join the Ashoka Support Network?

I began reflecting on this in 2020, when I felt a dual aspiration: to devote my work fully to the social and solidarity economy, and to share my experience with social entrepreneurs. That led me to co found Éclosion in France, supporting first time founders who want to enter social or impact entrepreneurship. Many arrive with motivation but no clear project, so we match their aspirations with a curated set of social issues developed with experts. It was my first concrete way to both transmit knowledge and commit fully to the sector. Later, by serendipity, I met two friends involved in Ashoka. Discovering its mission and approach to systemic change immediately resonated with my desire to support social entrepreneurs. I was drawn not only to the ASN community but especially to engaging with #Fellows. The mix of Fellows deeply rooted in the social economy and ASN members coming from very different professional worlds creates a productive tension; as long as it’s well supported. That’s why onboarding is essential: new ASNs need to understand the ecosystem they’re entering.

How do you see your role within the ASN ecosystem?

I am part of the ASN France Committee, a group of nine ASN members created in France to connect the forty member ASN community with the Ashoka team. Since joining the ASN in April 2021, I’ve been involved in this committee to help co construct initiatives and strengthen our impact for the ecosystem, especially for Fellows. We are now extending this approach to Ashoka’s youth programmes, including Impact’Ers, launched this year to support 17 young people. The goal is to widen the support beyond Fellows to emerging changemakers. For the past year and a half, I have also been part of the Ashoka team as a volunteer. Working closely with the community lead, we set up regular reviews of Fellows’ needs and organised ASN competencies into six practices: strategy and innovation, communication, digital, finance, HR and accompaniment, and international development. Support works on two levels: a generalist accompaniment committee of two or three ASNs for each new Fellow, and specialised help through the practices. I lead the HR and individual/collective accompaniment practice, coordinating around fifteen ASN members and professionals. I have been deeply involved in support topics from the start, stepped in during the community lead’s maternity leave to work directly with #Fellows, and later co led Ashoka France’s 20th anniversary celebration. My role is therefore diverse, both as an ASN and as part of the Ashoka team.

You contribute through coaching, development workshops, and accompaniment communities. Which part of this work feels most meaningful to you, and why?

All these modes of support are complementary, each serving different objectives and using different methods. Because I believe deeply in education and lifelong learning, I continued to train beyond my initial studies: I am a certified coach and certified as a board member. Governance and organisation matter enormously for #Fellows and their structures, as they condition both sustainability and impact. Each support format has its own purpose. Co-development groups rely on collective intelligence: Fellows bring a challenge, and the group offers new perspectives and deeper questioning. 

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What do you think is most unique about Ashoka ASN?

In France, you have a real community of about forty ASN members who learn from one another and then engage with Fellows and partners including pro bono partners who also help grow impact. I personally enjoy moving between different worlds. Ashoka, along with Éclosion and other activities, has helped me deepen my involvement in the social and solidarity economy in a way I hadn’t before, even though I had seen forms of social engagement earlier in my career at SNCF or Macif. I also see ASN members arrive with almost no knowledge of the social and solidarity economy or even of Fellows. And every time; especially during induction evenings when new Fellows are introduced; the effect is powerful. It still strikes me after five years: seeing people who choose to tackle a societal problem and devote most of their time to it is always impressive and enriching. 

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How do you personally experience you role at Ashoka? 

For me, this role is both a question and a source of energy. As a volunteer, whether as an ASN member or as part of the team, I constantly ask myself whether I am in the place where I am most useful for Ashoka France and for the community. I keep that question alive every day. What this engagement brings me personally is a deeply constructive dynamic. It is a space of solutions, of positive momentum; very different from environments that mainly carry bad news. Here, I am surrounded by women and men who see societal problems and choose to act on them. Being in that movement is exceptional. Even compared to consulting firms, which also work on solutions, the sense of purpose here is on another level. My advice to anyone who wants to engage in a similar way is simple: open your eyes. There is an entire world of social entrepreneurship that remains too invisible. Be curious about what is happening outside the circles you already know. You will come out transformed. Because being in contact with people who are transforming society inevitably transforms you as well.
 

If you had a magic wand, which one thing would you change?

With a magic wand, I would restore a calmer, stronger democratic life and a different way of doing politics. It’s a very meta-answer, because it concerns the framework; the conditions that allow democratic and civic expression to flourish. 

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Ashoka ASN Spotlight Interview with Agnés De Rauglaudre.pdf

Ashoka ASN Spotlight Interview with Agnés De Rauglaudre