“The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is a not-for-profit, independent and neutral organization, founded in 1998, with the purpose to advance social entrepreneurship and to foster social entrepreneurs as an important catalyst for societal innovation and progress. The Foundation is under the legal supervision of the Swiss Federal Government and is headquartered in Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland.”
The Foundation provides unparalleled platforms at the national, regional and global levels for leading social innovators that highlight social entrepreneurship as a key element to address social and ecological problems in an innovative, sustainable and effective way. 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 three open competitions for identifying the Social Entrepreneurs each for Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Social Entrepreneur of the Year – Asia 2010
Social Entrepreneur of the Year – Africa 2010
Social Entrepreneur of the Year – Latin America 2010
