NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, March 24, 2014

• Thirty seven social entrepreneurs working in health, education, employment, and the environment join the Schwab Foundation network of outstanding social entrepreneurs
• Learn more about the Schwab Foundation at www.schwabfound.org

New York, 24 March 2014 – Thirty seven Social Entrepreneurs have been recognized by the Schwab Foundation as the Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2014. The winners were selected in recognition of their innovative approaches and potential for global impact. The awardees will be announced during a livecast session at The Huffington Post, featuring Hilde Schwab, Co-Founder and Chairperson, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.

“Social entrepreneurs are the driving force behind innovations that improve the quality of life of individuals around the world, and they represent an integral and dynamic community of the World Economic Forum,” Hilde Schwab said. “It therefore gives me great pleasure to announce the 2014 Schwab Social Entrepreneur awardees. The 37 outstanding social entrepreneurs we have selected into the Schwab Foundation community this year are designing transformative models in collaboration with government and business partners to generate truly inclusive growth.”

The 2014 awardees include: Seiko Adachi & Masue Katayama of Shinko Fukushikai (Japan);José Vicente Aguerrevere of Día Día Practimercados (Venezuela); Shaikh Saif Al Rashid of JITA (Bangladesh); A.T Ariyaratne & Vinya Ariyaratne of Sarvodaya (Sri Lanka); Patrick Awuahof Ashesi University (Ghana); Richard Barth & Mike Feinberg of KIPP Foundation (USA); Shelly Batra of Operation ASHA (India); Marc Freedman of Encore (USA); Erin Ganju of Room to Read (USA); Ashifi Gogo of Sproxil (Nigeria); Sam Goldman, Donn Tice and Ned Tozun of D.light (USA); Rupert Howes of Marine Stewardship Council (United Kingdom); Tim Jones of Artscape (Canada); Martin Kariongi Ole Sanago of Institute for Orkonerei Pastoralists Advancements, IOPA (Tanzania); Jay Kimmelman and Shannon May of Bridge International Academies (Kenya);Sasha Kramer of Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (Haiti); Javier Armando Lozano of Clinicas del Azucar (Mexico); Nancy Lublin of Dosomething.org (USA); Jean-Daniel Muller andJean-Michel Ricard of Siel Bleu (France); Rosario Perez of Pro Mujer, Sanduk Ruit of Nepal Eye Program Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology (Nepal); Gbenga Sesan of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (Nigeria); Merula Steagall of Associação Brasileira de Linfoma e Leucemia (Brazil);Patrick Struebi of Fairtrasa (Peru); Luis Szaran of Sonidos de la Tierra (Paraguay); Adina Tal of Nalaga’at (Israel); Chris Underhill of BasicNeeds (United Kingdom); Chetna Vijay Sinha of Mann Deshi Bank and Mann Deshi Foundation (India); Charles Edouard Vincent of Emmaus Défi (France); and Allen Wilcox of VillageReach (Mozambique).

“A growing number of corporations see income inequality and environmental problems like climate change as fundamental threats to their long-term growth,” said David Aikman, Senior Director, World Economic Forum, and Head, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. “Many governments are starting to rethink the way they deliver goods and services that improve social outcomes. We are seeing greater appetite among other stakeholder groups of the Forum to learn from social innovation models and collaborate with social entrepreneurs in innovative ways. I am confident this trend will only continue to grow in the future, and the World Economic Forum is proud to be at the forefront of catalysing partnerships among these stakeholder groups for social and environmental change.”

The awardees will become part of the broader Schwab Foundation community of Social Entrepreneurs, which includes 250 outstanding social entrepreneurs from 60 countries. Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs are fully integrated into the events and initiatives of the World Economic Forum. They contribute actively to and benefit from peer-to-peer exchanges with other social entrepreneurs as well as interactions with top leaders in business, government, civil society and the media.

To nominate a social entrepreneur or to apply for the 2015 award, please visit www.schwabfound.org