Social entrepreneurs are the heart and soul of our Inspirational Adventures. A social entrepreneur is an individual with an innovative solution to an important social problem, and who is able to scale their idea to affect change on a wide level. Think of how the iPod revolutionized music or how the Model T automobile changed transportation. In the same way, social entrepreneurs are revolutionizing approaches to fighting poverty, providing health care and education, and otherage-old social afflictions.

      All of the social entrepreneurs we visit are internationally recognized Ashoka Fellows who have gone through a rigorous search and selection process assuring that they meet only the highest criteria including innovation, creativity, entrepreneurial quality, social impact, and ethical fiber. Ashoka, a citizen-sector organization, searches worldwide for entrepreneurs with the best and most innovative models of change, those with the potential to change the world, and provides them with funding so they can begin to scale their model regionally, nationally, and internationally.

      One great example of a social entrepreneur and Ashoka member is Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. The Grameen Bank, founded by Yunus, pioneered microcredit as a cost-effective and successful way to break the poor out of poverty. Grameen Bank provides small loans, without any collateral, to millions of rural women in Bangladesh too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. Though usually totaling only a few hundred dollars, these loans enable women to engage in income-generating activities like weaving, pottery, and garment sewing. Starting with only a few thousand customers, the Grameen Bank now has over 7.21 million borrowers, enjoys a 97% repayment rate, and has greatly contributed to the sharp reduction of poverty in Bangledesh. Most importantly, the microcredit model pioneered by Grameen has expanded to become a worldwide movement and is recognized as an important tool in the fight against poverty.

      We want these social entrepreneurs to serve as role models, inspiring our participants to join the growing movement of people who believe there are answers to the world's social problems. To that end we are proud to complement this inspiration with empowerment. Click here to learn more about how to become an agent of social change. (Link coming soon...)

Social Entrepreneur Juan Andrade

Juan, a priest who left home at the age of 13, is addressing the causes and consequences of rural poverty through innovative spaces where Ecuador’s most at-risk youth live and develop into the business leaders, social entrepreneurs, and advocates for social change of tomorrow.

Social Entrepreneur Lola Samaniego

Lola is a former congresswoman changing the face of urban poverty by creating new, eco-logical “urban villages” that provide home-ownership and skills training and create economic development for poor women.