Ashoka UK

Who we are

Ashoka : Building a network of Social Entrepreneurs and changing the world

As you are reading this, the term ‘social entrepreneur’ most likely will be familiar to you. How different it was 35 years ago, when we first put those two words together to describe men and women with system changing solutions for the world’s most urgent social problems. Since those early days, we have helped lead the global movement of social entrepreneurship into a new era.

The Fellowship

Ashoka is best-known as the leading global network of social entrepreneurs.  We build networks of pattern-changing social innovators and find high-impact entrepreneurs who creatively solve some of the world’s biggest social challenges. 

We select Fellows on their personal drive to change the systems within which they work to solve social and environmental issues.  It is this drive and entrepreneurial quality which to date has led 56% of Fellows to effect a national public policy change. Ashoka Fellows are provided with a multi-year financial stipend, plus access to our extended and expert network for a lifetime of support.

Our  work  with  the  world’s  leading  social  entrepreneurs has  convinced  us  that  a  ‘changemaking’  approach  is  the  only way  to  solve  the  world’s  most  pressing  problems.  Social entrepreneurs, however, cannot fix the planet alone. It will require the collaboration of every player in society, from families to global institutions and everything in between, to create lasting change.

Everyone a Changemaker

The pace of change is accelerating.  Social problems are intensifying worldwide. We believe it is essential for humanity to live and work differently from now on. People, businesses, organisations, communities and nations need to be thinking about innovating for the good of all, all the time, and creating ways for one another to lead change. 

Our vision is a world where everyone is a changemaker.  A world where all people everywhere are capable and confident to respond quickly, with resilience, creativity and empathy. A world where leadership and teamwork are used to take on any challenge or opportunity.

A  changemaker  is  someone  who  notices  that  the  world is  changing  and  sees  themselves  not  as  an  object  of  change  -  a person  that  change  happens  to  -  but  an  agent  of  change: someone who solves problems and makes progress. Together with schools, universities, parents, pupils, students and policy makers, we work to make changemaker skills an integral part of every  young person’s education.

Business Alliances

We believe that an ‘everyone a changemaker ‘ world is within our grasp. To achieve it, the roles of citizens and workers need to integrate. Businesses must see universal strengths in teamwork, initiative, leadership and the foundational skill of empathy.

We need businesses to lead the way in new, integrated and essential partnerships with social entrepreneurs. Ashoka supports the development of new social-business frameworks like inclusive business, B-corporations and the Hybrid Value Chain. These initiatives turn mutual goals into legitimate business structures. Ultimately, they revolutionise views, values, metrics, management and leadership for outcomes that produce both profit and social value.

With more than 3,000 Ashoka Fellows in over 80 nations and country offices on five continents, we are part of a global team of changemakers.

Vision

Ashoka envisions an Everyone A Changemaker™ world: a world that responds quickly and effectively to social challenges, and where each individual has the freedom, confidence and societal support to address any social problem and drive change.

Mission

Ashoka strives to shape a global, entrepreneurial, competitive citizen sector: one that allows social entrepreneurs to thrive and enables the world’s citizens to think and act as changemakers.