The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is a Swiss

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization founded in 1998 that provides platforms at the country, regional and global levels to promote social entrepreneurship.Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurshi
"About us."
Retrieved: 2013-08-06. The foundation is under the legal supervision of the

Swiss Federal Government The Federal Council (german: Bundesrat; french: Conseil fédéral; it, Consiglio federale; rm, Cussegl federal) is the executive body of the federal government of the Swiss Confederation and serves as the collective head of state and governme ...

. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Each year, it selects 20–25 social entrepreneurs through a global "Social Entrepreneur of the Year" competition.

History

Hilde Schwab at the WEF Social Entrepreneurs Wrap-up in 2018 In 1998, Klaus Schwab and his wife Hilde decided to create the independent not-for-profit Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. Its mission was to promote social innovation. It was a complementary foundation to the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

which Klaus Schwab had founded in 1971.

Pamela Hartigan Pamela Hartigan (April 26, 1948 - August 12, 2016) was the Director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. She was the founding partner of Volans Ventures and was also an advocate for the glob ...

, who joined in October 2000, was its first managing director. The Foundation is financed from the initial endowment provided by Klaus and Hilde Schwab plus grants and fees for services provided to individuals, foundations or companies.

Activities

The Foundation identifies rising social entrepreneurs under the age of 40 through its Forum of Young Global Leaders. The Foundation encourages the activists it identifies to work together as a team. This way ideas are shared and can attract funding from companies, Harvard and Stanford Universities, INSEAD and the support of leaders. providing backing from corporations and political, academic and communication leaders. The chosen people (260 people in 2013) serve on the Forum’s Global Agenda Councils. Case studies on specific social entrepreneurs are provided to leading academic institutions to incorporate into undergraduate and graduate level courses. Each year the Foundation selects 20-25 Social Entrepreneurs through a global “ Social Entrepreneur of the Year” competition. Winners include Mikaela Jade, for innovation in indigenous edu-tech.

Board of Directors

As of January 2015, the organization's Board of DirectorsThe Schwab Foundation Board
/ref> consisted of: * Hilde Schwab (Chairperson, Co-Founder) * Klaus Schwab (Co-Founder) *Rick Aubry (Social Entrepreneur & Educator,

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

) * Paulo Coelho (Author) *

David Gergen David Richmond Gergen (born May 9, 1942) is an American political commentator and former presidential adviser who served during the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. He is currently a senior political ...

(Director, Center for Public Leadership,

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

) *

Princess Mathilde of Belgium Mathilde (born ''Jonkvrouw'' Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz ; 20 January 1973) is Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Philippe. She is the first native-born Belgian queen. She has founded and assisted charities to ...

(Honorary Board Member) *

Zanele Mbeki Zanele Mbeki ( née Dlamini; born 18 November 1938) is a feminist South African social worker who founded the Women's Development Bank. She is also a former first lady of South Africa. Early life and education Zanele Dlamini was born in Alexand ...

(Former First Lady of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

) * Muhammad Yunus (Managing Director of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Grameen Bank Grameen Bank ( bn, গ্রামীণ ব্যাংক) is a microfinance organisation and community development bank founded in Bangladesh. It makes small loans (known as microcredit or "grameencredit") to the impoverished without requi ...

)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Entrepreneurship organizations Social entrepreneurship