The Schwab Foundation is an independent, neutral nonprofit organization headquartered in Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland and working under the legal supervision of the Swiss Federal Government. It organizes the Open Competition for the Social Entrepreneur of the Year in three different regions of Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe.
The Schwab Foundation of Social Entrepreneurship focuses on three specific objectives:
1) to foster a community of leading social entrepreneurs around the world. The Foundation provides the platforms for this community to promote sustainable and innovative solutions through interaction with corporations and other stakeholders of global society. These platforms are provided in close partnership with the World Economic Forum and its series of regional and global events.
2) to contribute to the scaling of social innovations in the world by fostering a continuous dialogue among the key experts and practitioners.
3) to identify leading social entrepreneurs in their respective countries through the “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” awards, which will be run by key partners of the Foundation. The Social Entrepreneurs of the Year awards shall be at the center of an effort to promote social entrepreneurship on a national level, to familiarize the general public with social entrepreneurship and to highlight role models for others to follow.
4) to identify young social entrepreneurs of the next generation who often develop highly innovative and sustainable approaches. The Foundation nominates these entrepreneurs as Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum and offers them a unique multistakeholder network to advance their causes and ventures.
There are currently four open competitions for identifying the Social Entrepreneurs each for Asia, Africa and Latin America.
1. Social Entrepreneur of the Year – Asia 2011
2. Social Entrepreneur of the Year – Africa 2011
3. Social Entrepreneur of the Year – Latin America 2011
4. Social Entrepreneur of the Year – Europe 2011
