• Social Entrepreneur

Global organization Ashoka defines social entrepreneurs as ‘individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems.’ The organization was founded by Bill Drayton in 1981, who realized that the career graph of social entrepreneurs and the trajectory of their ventures is similar to a business entrepreneur, except for the objective. With a mission to support these individuals, Ashoka initiated its efforts by identifying such leading social entrepreneurs who have found and implemented innovative solutions to social situations. “Ashoka identifies and shows India and the world who a social entrepreneur actually is,” explains Soloman Prakash, India Country Representative, Ashoka Innovators for the Public.

Its first five fellows were elected in 1982 and, since then, this has been its flagship program. Ashoka gives selected fellows a monthly stipend for three years, the amount of which varies depending on specific needs. It doesn’t invest in the venture per se. “We believe that if a person has everything for his/her livelihood, then he/she can focus on the venture better,” says Manoj Chandran, Director, Ashoka Innovators for the Public, India. Today, it has a presence in 72 countries with 350 fellows.

A bigger value is an access to a network of fellows, through its centralized knowledge hub. At an organizational level, this has helped it identify groups within its own network, be it regional or sector-based, to work closely with and study new, emerging trends. “Social entrepreneurs can now discuss issues and collaborate with each other, as Ashoka has the strength of knowledge capture,” he notes.

Its model runs on a process-driven exercise to select final fellows. Ashoka’s criteria judges an idea to be unique, innovative and game-changing, the creative capability of a person, social impact of idea and lastly the ethical background and entrepreneurial quality of person. “Even if an idea has been tried by one other person in the world, we reject it,” points out Chandran. Once a pool of candidates is identified, they are shortlisted over the next two rounds. At the first level, Ashoka filters these candidates internally. 10-12 short-listed candidates are invited to Bengaluru for a 10-day event where each one is interviewed by a senior Ashoka fellow [called second opinion] from outside India.

Observations made are noted to enhance the profile of candidates and then presented to a panel of three-four people made up of Ashoka fellows, experts in the field and the second opinion interviewer. “In India we conduct three panels a year and have elected 15 fellows in the last three years, each year,” he mentions. They aim to increase this number to 20 in 2011.

Ayyappa Masagi, Ashoka Fellow from 2004, has been working on water management in rural, urban and industrial areas. “Ashoka’s grant of Rs.22,000 a month helped me cover living expenses for three years and enabled me to start Water Literacy Foundation in 2005,” he mentions. This was in addition to other benefits Ashoka brought him, such as linking him to volunteers, funding agencies and others in similar space. Today, Masagi’s work spans 11 states covering a total of 4,733 locations.

Looking at the future of this segment Chandran says, “The next wave will happen when social entrepreneurs collaborate not just with each other but with business entrepreneurs as well.” For India specifically it has identified four verticals—Rural Development, Youth & Children, Full Economic Citizenship, and Rights & Inclusion to run as full-fledged programs with specific heads for each. Subsequently it has been on the lookout for partners and funds from foundations to bring them on board as co-creators of programs.

The Full Economic Citizenship Program envisages a world where every citizen has access to minimum economic products and services required to live. It launched ‘Affordable Housing Project’ in 2009 which brings together real estate developers, architects, citizen sector organizations (CSO) and housing financial institutions to create a proof of concept and cross leverage on benefits.

According to India’s 2001 census, the need for affordable housing stood roughly at 26 million and Ashoka speculates this figure to be 40 million at the next census. “In India, there is a group of people in the low income population who have capacity to buy land, but there is no supply,” highlights Vishnu Swaminathan, Director, Full Economic Citizenship. The program’s principals include building affordable housing in tier A1, II and III cities (except Mumbai, Delhi) in sub-Rs.10 lakh category.

Ashoka feels that larger the role a CSO plays, better the control it has on a project. “The relationship between developers and customers is important as is the rapport between a CSO and customer. The needs of low-income people are different and unique, and this has to be understood by designers,” adds Swaminathan.

Some years back, the organization revisited the reason for its existence. “We want to prepare a world which is ready for all challenges,” points out Chandran.
“Every citizen must be aware of his/her role as a change-maker.” This deduction propelled them to create opportunities for citizens to go through change-making experiences.
Ashoka has noticed an increasing trend where ventures bring in a for-profit element, as sustainability is now an equal concern as money made is pulled back into the venture. “Today there are enough people just out of college who look at a problem and say we should do something about it,” says Prakash. “This will be the decade of change-makers.”

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Ashoka, Ayyappa Masagi, Bill Drayton, manoj chandran, organisation, social, venture