Ashoka Social Entrepreneurship

Introducing Ashoka and the Social Entrepreneurship Series
A Unique Insight into the Minds of Men and Women Changing the World

Disrupting old patterns of action, catalyzing global change and transforming systems – these outstanding global social entrepreneurs have emerged as beacons of inspiration in the citizen sector. Ashoka’s Social Entrepreneurship Series is an exciting 16-program film series featuring Ashoka and six founding members of Ashoka’s Global Academy of Social Entrepreneurship. These include BRAC’s Fazle Abed, Ashoka’s Bill Drayton, Transparency International’s Peter Eigen, Ethos Institute and the World Social Forum’s Oded Grajew, Social Accountability International’s Alice Tepper Marlin, and Grameen Bank’s Muhammad Yunus.

Bill Drayton recognized the power of individual innovation in addressing social change and founded Ashoka in 1981. Today, 25 years on, Ashoka supports 1700 social entrepreneurs in more than 60 countries. Ashoka's mission is to shape a citizen sector that is entrepreneurial, productive and globally integrated, and to develop the profession of social entrepreneurship around the world.

Ashoka identifies and invests in leading social entrepreneurs - extraordinary individuals with unprecedented ideas for change in their communities - supporting them, their ideas and institutions through all phases of their careers. Ashoka Fellows benefit from being part of the global Fellowship for life.

We'd love to know what you think after you have a chance to listen to a few of them.

Learn more about Ashoka's Social Entrepreneurship Series on DVD

The programs published in the weeks to come will appear in the list below. The best way to learn about new releases is to subscribe to one of the RSS feeds below, or to one of the site-wide feeds.

Our publication of this series was made possible by your membership dues and:

Creating a World Without Poverty

Featuring Muhammad Yunus

Nobel Peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus talks about how he founded Grameen Bank to offer economic building tools for some of the poorest people in Bangladesh.

Dr. Muhammad Yunus - Banker to the Poor

Muhammad Yunus started a movement that has lifted millions out of poverty. When he formed the Grameen Bank in 1983 and started giving out microloans, Yunus bridged the divide between business and social needs. In this audio lecture, he describes how he created microcredit, collateral-free lending, and began offering other business services to the poor. Yunus lays out the path to his extraordinary vision and success, which is driving global social change.

Fazle H. Abed - Thinking Big and Scaling Up

Solving the world's big problems takes large-scale solutions, says Fazle H. Abed, founder of Building Resources Across Communities in Bangladesh. In this audio lecture, Abed outlines the development and market perspectives that have enabled his organization to expand and meet his country's needs in key areas, including microfinance, agriculture, and education.

Dr Muhammad Yunus - Reaching the Full Potential of Microfinance

Microfinance, the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans, has proved to be an effective strategy for raising millions of families from poverty worldwide. Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, who pioneered the microloan revolution in Bangladesh, explains in this audio lecture how he saw rural poor and women struggle against deeply institutionalized economic systems, and realized the massive change that small loans could provide.

Council on Foundations Annual Conference - Philanthropy and Nonprofit Acountability Practices

In the field of philanthropy, are foundations' grantmaking and reporting processes aligned with nonprofits' strategies? In this panel discussion exploring data from a Center for Social Innovation study on nonprofit accountability practices and the costs of conflicting demands, experts debate ways in which evaluation requirements may help or hinder mission delivery.