Ashoka
Meet 4 of 480 Fellows in Africa
Ashoka Fellows work across fields of work and business models. What they have in common is a vision for the good of all, outstanding entrepreneurial skills, a proven solution, and a potential to scale impact.
Help us fund the next generation of Ashoka Fellows
In 2023, we have identified 13 leading social entrepreneurs across Africa who have passed our selection process plus an additional 6 who are in the final stages of selection. We are inviting you to help us fund these outstanding leaders with purpose and are looking for funding partners to cover the stipends of the following 9 unfunded Fellows.
Jane Waithera - Positive Exposure Kenya - Kenya
Jane has made the de-stigmatization and advancement of people living with albinism a national policy priority for Kenya. With the explicit endorsement of the African Union, it has become an urgent policy priority for all the member states. Her latest innovation, “Albinism and I”, is an online initiative to be rolled out in 2024 to create and link support communities for people living with albinism across Africa and extend to other regions of the world.
Isabelle Kamariza - Solid'Africa - Rwanda
Isabelle is changing how public institutions address nutrition and food security by providing free or low-cost meals in Rwanda. Today she is scaling her approach with the government to all public hospitals and expanding her reach to the prison and education systems amongst other public institutions.
Malik Shaffy - Kina Rwanda - Rwanda
Malik is redefining play’s role in Rwandan society challenging conventional norms, liberating play from confined spaces, and advocating its universal application. Through a fusion of media advocacy, community engagement, and policy reform, he’s driving a profound mindset shift, empowering play to be a catalyst for societal transformation.
Paschal Achunine - Health Emergency Initiative (HEI) - Nigeria
Paschal is transforming the way the healthcare sector delivers emergency medical care, before and after patients reach the hospitals by empowering and training citizens as first responders in post-crash care and support.
Abiodun Adereni - Helpmum - Nigeria
Abiodun is leveraging technology to expand the effectiveness of midwives’ work and services in health care centers in rural communities reducing infant and maternal mortality rates in Nigeria.
Nelson Olanipekun - Citizens' Gavel - Nigeria
Nelson is enabling the administration of justice by introducing tech solutions to improve the management of cases and access to legal help for all.
Omowumi Ogunrotimi - Gender Mobile Initiative - Nigeria
Omowumi is working to prevent sexual harassment in higher education institutions by helping them introduce new rules and regulations designed to mitigate, punish, and hold perpetrators accountable.
Philomena Anyanwu - El-Aged Care Ltd - Nigeria
Philomena is building a better architecture to support the needs of the elderly population in rural areas.
Busisiwe Mkhumuzi - ThinkShift - South Africa
Busisiwe is capacitating young people from disadvantaged schools with the necessary 21st-century competencies to allow them to thrive in today's ever-changing and 4th IR-driven markets.
How Ashoka selects social entrepreneurs
Every year Ashoka searches the continent to identify amazing social entrepreneurs who have the potential to create large-scale change. Our selection is based on a 5-steps process including in-person conversations, field visits, reference checks, international evaluation, a panel, and a validation from the Ashoka Board:
Ashoka's priority topics in Africa
While we want to keep electing Fellows in all key fields of work, we have identified some priority topics for the continent:
Education and Youth Employment
Women and Girls
Climate and Planet
Tech and Humanity
Making more Health
Our Impact
We select Fellows and accompany them along their journey – with catalytic investments, strategic guidance, and with an unmatched peer-to-peer community. With them, we seed a culture of changemaking where everyone owns the future and helps to shape it. Here are some snippets of impact from our Global 2021 Fellow Impact study:
Sustainability
91 % of Fellows are still pursuing the idea for which they were electing a Fellow
Systems-change
76% of Fellows have achieved legislative change
Ashoka’s investment
89% of Fellows report that the Ashoka stipend helped them focus full-time on their idea
Growing impact
91 % of Fellows believe that Ashoka has helped them increase their impact
A Trusted Partner
Ashoka has pioneered the field of social entrepreneurship, identifying and supporting the world’s leading social entrepreneurs since 1981. In 2022, NGO Advisor ranked Ashoka the 7th most impactful and innovative Social Good Organization (SGOs) in the world. Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.
In Africa, Ashoka has a presence since the early 90s. We have elected and supported over 450 social entrepreneurs in 23 countries, mobilizing over USD 22 million from key partners to accelerate social change. Being at the center of this network of social entrepreneurs provides Ashoka with a deep understanding of the key levers for bringing about structural social change.
Regional offices: Lagos, Johannesburg, Dakar, Nairobi
Our venture partners include
Boehringer Ingelheim
Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) and Ashoka have partnered together in promoting innovative solutions to challenging health problems since 2010. By exploring the intersection of social entrepreneurship, employee talent development, and healthcare networks the teams have co-designed "win-win" solutions to global healthcare challenges. Solutions have come through increasing individuals’ access to healthcare and community health issues, especially underserved populations. Over 5 years, the team has supported 75 Making More Health fellows in 47 countries, launched 3 global open-source competitions finding 800+ health innovations worldwide, and engage 10% of BI's global workforce of 45,000.
Boehringer Ingelheim
Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) and Ashoka have partnered together in promoting innovative solutions to challenging health problems since 2010. By exploring the intersection of social entrepreneurship, employee talent development, and healthcare networks the teams have co-designed "win-win" solutions to global healthcare challenges. Solutions have come through increasing individuals’ access to healthcare and community health issues, especially underserved populations. Over 5 years, the team has supported 75 Making More Health fellows in 47 countries, launched 3 global open-source competitions finding 800+ health innovations worldwide, and engage 10% of BI's global workforce of 45,000.
Sage Foundation
Sage Foundation was established in 2015. Since then, they have built a model of action philanthropy via their employees, partners, and customers by giving time through face-to-face and virtual volunteering.
In addition to contributing time and experience, they support the non-profit sector by offering discounted software, free financial management tools, and training to charities, social enterprises, and other non-profit organisations.
Sage Foundation
Sage Foundation was established in 2015. Since then, they have built a model of action philanthropy via their employees, partners, and customers by giving time through face-to-face and virtual volunteering.
In addition to contributing time and experience, they support the non-profit sector by offering discounted software, free financial management tools, and training to charities, social enterprises, and other non-profit organisations.
Get in touch with us today. We need everyone to act now. Everyone a changemaker.
Stéphanie Schmidt
Partnership Director, Ashoka Africa
Stéphanie joined Ashoka Africa Leadership team since September 2017, after 13 years with Ashoka on different continents: at the Global Headquarters in the US, Mexico City and Paris. Stephanie is leading the launch of the “Changemaker Company” initiative in Africa to create more bridges between the corporate world and social entrepreneurs and engage businesses in developing their full changemaker potential. Stéphanie is also an international evaluator for the selection of new Ashoka Fellows and a board member of Ashoka Romania. She started her carrier in management consulting with Deloitte in Paris, and Boston, before joining World Relief in Rwanda for 2 years as program director where she supported the launch of Ikirezi, a social enterprise producing essential oils with rural communities led by Ashoka Fellow Nicolas Hitimana. Stephanie was born and raised in France and holds an MBA degree from ESSEC Business School in Paris. She is a mother of 3.
Josephine Nzerem
Director, Africa Venture & Talent
Josephine Nzerem
Director, Africa Venture & Talent