Blog | Changemakers

Tuesday, February 18, 2014 - 16:04

Advice To Changemakers: Lessons From The 2013 Ashoka-American Express Emerging Innovators Toronto Boot Camp

“If you have a preconceived notion of good, you cannot be creative,” said Zahra Ebrahim, founder of archiTEXT. “Let go of everything that already is, and design something that truly does not exist.”Armed with this advice, 15 social innovators in a design-thinking workshop led by Ebrahim went to work twisting pipe cleaners and arranging popsicle sticks to prototype new toothbrush designs.Ebrahim compared design thinking to the mindset required for social innovators during her workshop.

Monday, February 17, 2014 - 12:55

Overcoming The Last Mile Challenge: Distributing Value To Billions

(Editor's note: This post originally appeared on Forbes.com)

You can buy a Coca-Cola anywhere in the world, but affordable products that provide essential value like water treatment or lighting often do not reach billions of poor populations around the globe. However, in what is commonly known as the “last mile distribution challenge,“ some social entrepreneurs are providing innovative solutions to make the last mile a first opportunity.

Hao Zhu

Friday, February 14, 2014 - 13:22

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Technology

Future Forward Team

Thursday, February 13, 2014 - 19:18

Funeka's Story

Funeka, an ex-learner turned volunteer at ikamvayouth.org shares her story, Ikamva Youth's innovative model and its impact to date.

Future Forward Team

Thursday, February 13, 2014 - 19:07

From savannah to slums, Kenyan yoga strikes a pose

"I have been teaching Baptiste Power Yoga for about 15 years and I was on a family vacation here in Kenya in 2006. I saw a group of youth doing handstands. I got out of the car and did handstands with them. That day changed my life," explains Elenson, who saw yoga as a way to create jobs for young people in Kenya.

Gayle Lemmon

Thursday, February 13, 2014 - 17:01

Eliminating the Gender Gap: Women Starting Up In The Middle East

Every year, the World Economic Forum publishes its Global Gender Gap Report, tracking the world’s progress toward eliminating gender inequality. This year’s report, published in October, included some good news: in the nearly 140 countries counted, more than 90 percent of the divide in health and education has been closed. Still, there remains a huge gender gap in economic participation, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where men are 60 percent more economically empowered than women.

Anonymous (not verified)

Tuesday, February 11, 2014 - 9:30

How Flexible Work Culture Can Make Business More Social

(Editor's note: This post originally appeared on Forbes.com)

Ten years ago, I met a woman working in the kitchens of my son’s school. Prior to having children, she had been a high flying professional. This, she told me, was the only job she could find with the flexibility she needed to care for her family. After searching for months for something at her level of skill and ability, she felt she had no choice but to “back pedal” on her achievements, earning capacity and future ambitions.

Kris Herbst

Monday, February 10, 2014 - 11:51

The Mayor of Kibera: A Shining Hope

From a young age, he was responsible for the well-being of his family, but Kennedy Odede never felt control of anything, especially his own health. He was growing up in Kibera, Nairobi, immersed in the devastating and ever-changing realities of Africa’s largest urban slum.

Community development

Health care

Economic development

Danielle Batist

Friday, February 7, 2014 - 20:00

Why Co-Creation Is the Future for All of Us

(Editor's note: This post originally appeared on Forbes.com. Photo credit: Specialisterne – "People with autism at an IT company")

In a world defined by rapid change, the search for solutions to societal and environmental challenges has become more complex. While market systems have become interconnected and supply chains have become supply webs, public policy and industry norms are not changing as fast. As a result, they are increasingly inadequate tools to govern our societies.

Puja Balachander

Tuesday, February 4, 2014 - 16:42

Know Your Goals, Know Your Audience: Lessons From The 2013 Ashoka-American Express Emerging Innovators Mexico City Boot Camp

If you want to obtain different results, don’t do the same things. Improve your potential by combining systems that meet skills and strengthen creative gaps. Make the change you want to see as clear as the problem you want to solve.

Monday, February 3, 2014 - 17:32

Garbage In, Healthcare Out

“We are building a system for management of garbage in communities,” said Gamal Albinsaid, age 24, founder of the social enterprise Garbage Clinical Insurance (CGI).

Health care

Sanitation

Hyacinth Mascarenhas

Monday, February 3, 2014 - 13:10

Breaking Barriers for Women in Pakistan: The Women's Digital League

Before venturing into entrepreneurship, Maria Umar was a full-time teacher at a private school in Pakistan. After she got pregnant, however, she was refused maternity leave and fired. Discovering online work through sites such as Odesk and Elance, Umar began to take on micro online tasks ranging from content writing to social media management before outsourcing them to her nieces, friends and other women in Pakistan. In 2009, she founded her own all-women virtual firm – The Women’s Digital League.

Anonymous (not verified)

Saturday, February 1, 2014 - 0:00

Competition documents in Greek

Dear Greek Speakers,

Here you can find the Social&Business Co-Creation Competition Welcome Letter, as well as the Competition Guidelines and Criteria in Greek.

Best regards,
Ashoka Greece

Future Forward Team

Friday, January 31, 2014 - 15:42

How Can Africa Innovate to Support Youth Livelihoods?

Featuring Kabelo Ramatlhape student of Ashoka Fellow Taddy Blecher's social innovation Maharishi Institute, and a serial entrepreneur in his own right.

Future Forward Team

Friday, January 31, 2014 - 15:39

Innovations Journal: Youth and Economic Opportunities

"Why do all of us as social entrepreneurs do this work? Because I believe from the bottom of my heart that poverty is simply unnecessary, and that we could end it in our generation—and that’s what we work towards every single day." —Taddy Blecher, Ashoka Fellow and Founder of Maharishi Institute... read more

Tsega Belachew

Friday, January 31, 2014 - 15:27

Seven Trends Shaping the Youth Employment Conversation

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on Forbes.com. Tsega Belachew (@tsepeaces) shares insights on social entrepreneurs paving the path for youth employment solutions in Africa…

It is not easy to be young and in the labor market today. In the midst of economic and political flux, youth face a lot of uncertainty about their future. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), global unemployment is reaching crisis levels at 12.6%. But recent projections from the UN Population Division tell a significant story: the demographic future of the world will be Africa-driven.

John Converse T...

Friday, January 31, 2014 - 13:41

How UNFIRE helps feed Nigeria at a bargain price

Social entrepreneur Mene B. Orits helps Nigerian farmers feed their families, and the rest of the country, while also offering young people and women a means out of poverty.

Kris Herbst

Friday, January 31, 2014 - 12:08

Delivering Simple, Life-Changing Technologies Where it Counts

Ewa Wojkowska has created distribution systems that are giving people in remote areas of Indonesia and other parts of the world, who lack access to electricity and clean water, life-changing technologies such as water filters, solar lights and fuel efficient cookstoves. She is co-founder Kopernik, a Bali-based nonprofit organization that launched a Tech Kiosk initiative in 2012 to support 41 Tech Kiosks across five Indonesian provinces.

Economic development

Sustainable development

Technology

Melek Pulatkonak

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 - 17:27

Closing the Gender Gap in Turkey

Turkish Women’s International Network (TurkishWIN) seeks to inspire and connect female leaders in Turkey and abroad with stories that convey whole hearted stories and inspiration. The goal is simple: utilizing the power of video and the format of TED talks, it provides wings to women’s stories, unleashing the economic power of women by inspiring and connecting them across the homeland and in the Turkish diaspora.

John Converse T...

Tuesday, January 28, 2014 - 16:00

Micro-health insurance: how and why it works in Indonesia

Keeping waste out of landfills? Making health care accessible to all?

Sarah Peck

Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 10:09

The Smart Money Is On Hiring Women

“If we hire a woman, she will just leave the company when she gets married or has a child.”
“We want to hire women, but we can’t find women with the right qualifications.”
“We can’t hire women because our men will just harass them.”

John Converse T...

Tuesday, January 21, 2014 - 14:41

Rebuilding Guatemala … Through Its Soil

The story of how one social entrepreneur in Guatemala, Curt Bowen, is starting a revolution—for farmers, by farmers.

Hyacinth Mascarenhas

Monday, January 20, 2014 - 12:43

Making The Daily Commute Safer for Women in Pakistan

The daily commute is considered a routine task by many people around the world – mundane, unchanging and more often than not, simple. In many parts of South Asia, however, this seemingly simply task of commuting to and from work is considered difficult and often dangerous for women. An issue brought to light by the horrific gang rape in Delhi, safe, harassment-free transportation is hard to come by for many working women in the region.

Hyacinth Mascarenhas

Friday, January 17, 2014 - 13:44

Striking A Balance to Empower Female Engineers

“Children should have the right to have their mother at home, not in the form of a maid, babysitter or grandmother,” says Nermin Saad. “At the same time, don’t these mothers have the right to use their degrees and qualifications flexibly whilst taking care of their children?

Marzena Zukowska

Wednesday, January 15, 2014 - 8:21

The Most Innovative Solutions of the "Women Powering Work" Competition

Investing in women creates a multiplier effect for society: better health and education outcomes, societal resilience, reinvestment in communities, and national prosperity. While progress has been made globally, women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) still face some of the most daunting barriers in asserting their economic rights.

“Women currently make up half of the world’s population, work two-thirds of the world’s working hours, produce half the world’s food, but only earn 10 percent of the income and own less than 2 percent of the world’s property,” according to Ashoka Fellow Ben Powell of Agora Partnerships. Moreover, the MENA region has one of the lowest rates of female labor participation in the world.

Hyacinth Mascarenhas

Tuesday, January 14, 2014 - 20:48

Empowering Women and Reviving Bedouin Traditions

In Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula, Bedouin tribes have inhabited the region for centuries sharing a distinct cultural tradition, bound by tribal alliances and family connections rather than state citizenship.

John Converse T...

Tuesday, January 14, 2014 - 13:41

Mexican Innovation Connecting Off-The-Grid Rural Farmers To The World

Millions of rural Mexican citizens lack access to reliable electricity. But Manuel Wiechers, founder of Iluméxico, is helping farmers off the national energy grid turn on the lights.

Hyacinth Mascarenhas

Monday, January 13, 2014 - 0:18

Reviving Afghanistan One Farmer at a Time

It’s hard to believe that Afghanistan was once considered the “orchard of Central Asia.”

In the 1970s, about 60% of the world’s dried fruit came from Afghanistan with fruits and nut exports making up about 40% of the country’s foreign exchange with bountiful vineyards, farms and forests peppering the nation’s terrain landscapes. After years of drought, conflict and the Taliban rule, the war-torn country now stands as one of the poorest in the world.

Hyacinth Mascarenhas

Tuesday, January 7, 2014 - 18:46

UAE's First Virtual Job Market

Finding work in the Arab World is a daunting task. Battling the highest rate of unemployment among youth in the world, nearly a quarter of men and 42 percent of women aged 15 to 24 were unemployed in 2012. In contrast, youth unemployment in the European Union and the US are 18 percent and 16 percent respectively.

Danielle Batist

Tuesday, January 7, 2014 - 12:43

The Loo as a Business Proposition

It’s been a big year for the toilet. November saw the first UN-recognised World Toilet Day and the loo even got its own festive hashtag: #celebratethetoilet.

Hyacinth Mascarenhas

Monday, January 6, 2014 - 17:55

How Are These Women Leading the Tech Revolution in Yemen?

Yemen has long been one of the poorest countries in the Arab world and with a history of civil conflict and particularly conservative cultural traditions, the challenges facing its citizens, especially women, are nothing short of enormous.

Danielle Batist

Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - 16:00

Innovation until the last drop

Imagine turning the taps on, only to wait around for hours for piped water to arrive. This is the daily reality for hundreds of millions of people. In India, tech start-up NextDrop is using mobile phone messaging to spread the word—and the water.

Danielle Batist

Saturday, December 21, 2013 - 16:00

Student Entrepreneurs Run Nepal’s First Free Private Schools

With huge school drop-out rates and half a million young workers leaving for low-skilled labour abroad, Nepal’s education system is in dire straits. Five youngsters who studied abroad came back to turn the tide.

Future Forward Team

Monday, December 16, 2013 - 15:59

Improving Job Creation for Young People

Ashoka and The MasterCard Foundation have partnered to bring the second webinar in the Future Forward series featuring youth and innovators, Ashoka Fellows selected in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation to answer: How can job creation be improved for young people?

Panelists:

Judy Stuart, Founder of Future Farmers, http://bit.ly/1g9I1Rw

Nokukhanya Nxumalo, a youth and now aspiring farmer participating in Future Farmers

Reem Rahman

Monday, December 16, 2013 - 12:32

5 Innovative Trends in Women's Economic Equality

Investing in women creates a multiplier effect for society – including better health and education outcomes, more resilient societies, reinvestment in communities, and greater prosperity. While there has been overall progress globally, women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) still face some of the greatest barriers in asserting their economic rights.

Stephanie Don

Wednesday, December 11, 2013 - 7:16

The World Cup Effect

Sporting mega events such as the FIFA World Cup^TM consume the hearts and minds of people around the world. With Brazil 2014 quickly approaching, as well as the 2016 Olympic Games, streetfootballworld would like to ensure that these mega events leave a lasting, positive effect on the host country of Brazil.

Citizen participation

Sustainable development

Youth development

Sports

Marzena Zukowska

Friday, November 29, 2013 - 22:57

Accelerating Women Changemakers: A New Way of Doing Business

Take a look at the key insights from our Twitter Chat with top women's empowerment organizations: "Accelerating Women Changemakers: A New Way of Doing Business."

Future Forward Team

Monday, November 25, 2013 - 16:33

Four Lessons From A Social Entrepreneur

Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on Forbes.com. Dorien Beurskens, founder of Young Africa (YA) and an Ashoka Fellow who was elected as part of the “Future Forward” partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, shares key insights and approaches as part of the #AfricaYouthFwd innovative solutions conversation.

News headlines are replete with stories of a growing youth bulge and impending youth unemployment crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. This is the bad news. However, many social entrepreneurs are at work even now creating solutions to these types of challenges—a sort of counterbalance that shapes fortune out of misfortune. And within Africa, innovators are stepping up to the challenge of affecting behavior and pattern change with a deep understanding of the context of their communities’ problems. Young Africa (YA) founder Dorien Beurskens and her partner Raj A. Joseph are part of a wave of social entrepreneurs who are identifying root causes for the youth employment challenges in Africa and developing innovative solutions, which place the needs, assets, and priorities of the youth and the wider community at the forefront.

Kristie Wang

Monday, November 18, 2013 - 17:56

Sasha Kramer: Nutrients for All Changemaker

Sasha Kramer is working with communities in Haiti to fight diarrhea-related disease, the leading cause of child mortality. She co-founded SOIL (Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods), which transforms human waste into a resource for sustainable livelihoods, agriculture, and reforestation.

Kristie Wang

Monday, November 18, 2013 - 17:44

Maria Umar: Women Powering Work Changemaker

Maria Umar founded Women’s Digital League (WDL), a virtual firm and pilot project in Pakistan, to train hundreds of women with the tech skills they need to gain economic empowerment.

John Converse T...

Monday, November 11, 2013 - 17:46

2 Innovations Changing The Tech Landscape For Women In MENA

The Middle East and North Africa is home to a growing number of women who are, uncharacteristically, demanding equal citizenship and a greater role in society. The impetus? Women are getting educated—and getting online.

Marzena Zukowska

Sunday, November 3, 2013 - 23:11

3 Takeaways from the Women Powering Work Twitter Chat

Did you miss the last Women Powering Work Twitter Chat? Have no fear! Take a look at the Storify recap below for the best insights from innovators and thought leaders:

Leena Al Olaimy

Monday, October 28, 2013 - 19:22

Powering Up the MENA Region: Solutions from Bahrain to Jordan

The Middle East and North Africa region represents a wildly diverse variety of cultures, customs, religions and political groups. And the relationships between these constructs and popular ideas about women's rights are similarly varied throughout different countries in the region.

Danielle Batist

Friday, October 25, 2013 - 11:30

Intellectual Property: a $25 Billion Opportunity for Africa

What do Ethiopian fine coffee farmers, Uganda vanilla producers and women gatherers of Nilotica shea nuts have in common?

...They were all losing out on their hugely valuable products because of a lack of intellectual property tools.

John Converse T...

Thursday, October 24, 2013 - 9:00

Interview With Tony Juniper: 'No Nature, No People'

Tony Juniper is a campaigner, writer, and “by popular consent the most effective of Britain’s eco-warriors.” He’s currently a special adviser to the Prince of Wales Charities’ International Sustainability Unit, a senior associate with the University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL), and editor-in-chief of National Geographic Green Magazine.

Ashoka Changemakers

Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - 10:00

Sustainable Living Through ‘Barefoot’ Solutions

Capitalizing on the untapped labor market could transform business and the lives of 200 million individuals. In India, Barefoot College is leading the way.

John Converse T...

Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - 16:37

How Can Business Be a Force for Change? G+ Hangout Next Monday

Business leaders can be a force for addressing climate change. They need to be. Now.

Marzena Zukowska

Tuesday, October 22, 2013 - 10:07

Who Are the Early Entry Prize Winners?

General Electric and Ashoka Changemakers launched the Women Powering Work competition on August 21, 2013, to source the most innovative solutions working to advance economic opportunities for women in Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Pakistan.

Marzena Zukowska

Sunday, October 20, 2013 - 18:27

Weekly Buzz: Top 3 Reads on Women's Economic Equality

What is the Women Powering Work community buzzing about this week? Check out these great reads about current trends in women’s economic equality:

Kris Herbst

Thursday, October 17, 2013 - 16:32

A League of Their Own: Pakistani Women Go Digital

Maria Umar is challenging the cement ceiling as an international entrepreneur and a key player in Pakistan's burgeoning tech scene. She is revered as one of the trailblazers in the female entrepreneurial revolution, and focuses her efforts on furthering work opportunities for women in Pakistan.

Information & communication technology

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Dear Greek Speakers,

Best regards, Ashoka Greece

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Best regards,
Ashoka Greece