The Schwab Foundation today honoured the winners of the Asia Social Entrepreneur of the Year award at the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Jakarta, Indonesia- Honourees working in Australia, India, Indonesia, Nepal and Pakistan are among 15 social entrepreneurs taking part in the meeting to provide perspective on social innovation
- Learn more about the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship atschwabfound.org
Jakarta, Indonesia, 20 April 2015 – Five social entrepreneurs were today named Asia Social Entrepreneur of the Year at the World Economic Forum on East Asiataking place in Jakarta, Indonesia. The awards were conferred by David Aikman, Head of New Champions and Member of the Management Committee, World Economic Forum.
“Social entrepreneurs are pioneering leaders working on the most pressing problems facing us today. They are an integral community of the World Economic Forum that is increasingly sought after by others, including businesses, governments and civil society leaders,” Aikman said.
The following were honoured as Asia Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2015:
Elaine Montegriffo, SecondBite
SecondBite is committed to ensuring access to fresh, nutritious food for people in need across Australia. This is achieved by redistributing surplus fresh food, building community capacity in food skills and nutrition, and advocating an end to food insecurity. By retrieving fresh food that is otherwise destined for landfill, SecondBite saves water and energy and reduces pollution. And by providing fresh produce and teaching healthy eating skills, SecondBite is improving the health and welfare of disadvantaged Australians. Finally, the 1,200 community food programmes that are supplied with fresh food save previous funds that they can reinvest in other services.
Helianti Hilman, JAVARA, Indonesia
JAVARA works across agricultural value chains, from production to distribution, to preserve Indonesia’s biodiversity and bring community-based, organic products to wider markets. JAVARA, inspired by indigenous farmers and food artisans striving to preserve Indonesia’s food biodiversity, sells over 600 artisanal products and works with 50,000 smallholder farmers across Indonesia. The company intervenes along the supply chains to strengthen supplier production capacity, improve workplace safety and markets products nationally and internationally, securing premium prices for the farmers and processors.
Hanumappa Sudarshan, Karuna Trust, India
The Karuna Trust has pioneered a public-private partnership model that brings the government, the village community and the social enterprise together to deliver high-quality primary healthcare to rural India. The government invests in upgrading infrastructure and pays for the efficient running of the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) while Karuna Trust brings in management systems and health innovations. Village councils hold their PHCs accountable for reporting higher health outcomes and functioning as zero-corruption zones. All services are provided free of charge to patients. Fees, if any, are charged on a non-profit basis.
Mark Arnoldy and Duncan Maru, Possible Health, Nepal
Possible is a nonprofit healthcare company that delivers high-quality, low-cost healthcare to the world’s poor in rural Nepal. They are pioneering a new approach, called durable healthcare that brings together the best of private, public, and philanthropic models. Possible delivers care within the existing Nepali government infrastructure, and are paid by the government only if they hit certain impact milestones. Leveraging the government allows them to keep costs low and provide access for the poorest patients by realigning revenue with care. They are building their model to spur adoption across Nepal and act as a blueprint for other countries struggling to deliver care to their poorest citizens. Since 2008, Possible has treated over 235,000 patients in rural Nepal through government hospitals, clinics, and community health workers.
Mushtaq Chhapra, The Citizen’s Foundation, Pakistan
Set up in 1995, The Citizens Foundation (TCF) is one of Pakistan’s leading providers of formal education. Innovations implemented by TCF over the past 20 years have resulted in the largest network of formal private schools for underprivileged communities in the world. TCF currently operates 1,000 purpose-built school units with 145,000 students in slums and villages in 100 towns and cities of Pakistan. More than 11,500 people have gained employment in Pakistan, with 7,700 women teachers earning livelihoods from TCF schools.
To view the 2015 Social Entrepreneur honourees from around the world, please visit:Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs 2015.
To follow the East Asia Meeting, please visit: http://wef.ch/ea15
About the Schwab Foundation
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship was co-founded by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, and his wife, Hilde. Since its inception in 2000, the Foundation has been identifying the world’s leading social entrepreneurs and involves the community of 200 award winners in advancing the field of social innovation in collaboration with corporate, government and academic stakeholders. Selected social entrepreneurs of the Schwab Foundation network participate in World Economic Forum events, thus providing unique opportunities for them to connect with business, political and media leaders.