Ashoka
Meet 4 of 512 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 2024, we have identified 44 leading social entrepreneurs across Africa who have passed our selection process. We are looking for vision-aligned partners to co-invest with us in the following outstanding social entrepreneurs who have been confirmed as Ashoka Fellows. The Ashoka Fellowship including the 3-year stipend will help them bring their impact to the next stage. In 2024, for the first time, we have elected Fellows in the DRC.
Gideon Olanrewaju
Ashoka Fellow since May 2024
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
We need you!
We are on an ambitious growth plan to elect 50 new Fellows a year in 5 years in Sub-Saharan Africa. We have a strong pipeline of amazing candidates addressing critical social and environmental issues with passion, dedication, and creativity.
The average cost per new Fellow in Africa is approximately USD 175,000 for search, selection, and a 3-year stipend to the social entrepreneur, unrestricted funding to help him/her focus full time on their social Venture and grow their organization and impact.
You can help us invest in this new generation of innovators for the public on the African continent
A Trusted Partner
Ashoka has pioneered the field of social entrepreneurship, identifying and supporting the world’s leading social entrepreneurs since 1981. In 2024, Ashoka was ranked #7 amongst social good organizations worldwide by thedotgood (previously NGO Advisor). Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.
In Africa, Ashoka has had a presence since the early 90s. We have elected and supported over 500 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 gives Ashoka a deep understanding of the key levers for bringing about structural social change.
Regional offices: Lagos, Johannesburg, Dakar, Nairobi
Our venture partners include
Making More Health
Making More Health is a long-term initiative by Boehringer Ingelheim that aims to create healthy, thriving and self-sustaining communities worldwide through a systemic approach, including partnerships and donations. Through community activation, we engage local communities and co-create with partners to support more sustainable solutions in health, economic development, education and culture, and infrastructure. This empowers systemic change and cross-sector collaboration, aimed to enable an innovation-driven culture for our employees and partners. Through our collaboration with social entrepreneurs, we aim to drive social innovation within the communities we serve and amongst our own employees. Together with our partners, we aim to be a thought leader in social innovation.
Making More Health
Making More Health is a long-term initiative by Boehringer Ingelheim that aims to create healthy, thriving and self-sustaining communities worldwide through a systemic approach, including partnerships and donations. Through community activation, we engage local communities and co-create with partners to support more sustainable solutions in health, economic development, education and culture, and infrastructure. This empowers systemic change and cross-sector collaboration, aimed to enable an innovation-driven culture for our employees and partners. Through our collaboration with social entrepreneurs, we aim to drive social innovation within the communities we serve and amongst our own employees. Together with our partners, we aim to be a thought leader in social innovation.
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 is a Social Entrepreneur who was elected an Ashoka Fellow in 2002 for her innovative work in the protection of women from disinheritance and other socio-economic abuses. In 2004 she received an award from the Junior Chambers International as the outstanding young person for the year, in the area of contribution to children, world peace and/or human rights. Josephine believes that women’s human rights must be recognized and upheld at all times. In 2011, she became the Regional Director of Anglophone West Africa. In this role, she is working towards creating an Everyone A Changemaker society by inspiring various communities in Anglophone West Africa to take initiative to solve social problems. She is also inspiring the Anglophone West Africa team to embody a high standard of excellence, innovation and commitment. Josephine’s educational background spams the areas of Dramatic Arts, Public and International Affairs and Psychology.