Oliver Cann, Director, Media Relations, Tel.: +41 79 799 3405; Email: Oliver.Cann@weforum.org
Cape Town, South Africa, 4 June 2015 – Five social entrepreneurs were today named Africa Social Entrepreneurs of the Year at the World Economic Forum on Africa, taking place in Cape Town, South Africa. The awards were conferred by Hilde Schwab, Co-Founder and Chairperson of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, during the opening plenary session in the presence of several heads of state from the region.
“Social entrepreneurs are an integral community of the World Economic Forum and an increasingly sought-after one,” said Hilde Schwab, Chairperson and Co-Founder of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, the sister organization of the World Economic Forum. The Schwab Foundation, co-founded by Klaus and Hilde Schwab in 1998, today manages the largest network of late-stage social enterprises in the world: more than 320 organizations with operations in 70 countries.
“A growing number of corporations see income inequality and environmental problems like climate change as fundamental threats to their long-term growth, and governments are starting to rethink the way they deliver goods and services that improve social outcomes,” Hilde Schwab continued. “I am confident this trend will continue to grow in the future, and the World Economic Forum and the Schwab Foundation are proud to be at the forefront of catalysing partnerships between social entrepreneurs and other stakeholder groups to drive social and environmental change.”
The Awardees:
John Sargent and Ernest Darkoh, BroadReach Healthcare, South Africa
BroadReach works to improve access to healthcare for underserved populations around the world and has worked on some of Africa’s most innovative and successful healthcare programmes, including Africa’s first national HIV treatment programme, which has already provided HIV treatment support for over 500,000 patients, as well as HIV care support for over one million patients.
Christie Peacock, Sidai Africa, Kenya
For building Sidai into an extensive franchise network of livestock service centres. By providing veterinary and animal husbandry services to farmers, Sidai has helped change perceptions of livestock as assets, contributing to improved production and increased income levels among farmers.
Katherine Lucey, Solar Sister, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria
Solar Sister is a solar energy technology company built around a woman-centred direct sales network. Since 2009, the company has created over 1,000 Solar Sister Entrepreneurs, helping over 300,000 people in Uganda, Tanzania and Nigeria. Over 90% of the income generated by a Solar Sister Entrepreneur is reinvested into her family, improving their lives and providing benefits for the next generation.
Sharanjeet Shan, Maths Centre Incorporating Sciences, South Africa
Maths Centre’s objective is to equip teachers, learners and parents with innovative materials and programmes to further develop their competency and performance in math, science and technology curriculums throughout South Africa. By 2014, Maths Centre had served over 500 schools, with 175,000 math and physical science students, through a network of 4,268 educators.
About the Schwab Foundation
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship was co-founded by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, and his wife, Hilde. Since its inception in 1998, the Foundation has been identifying the world’s leading social entrepreneurs and involves the community of 320 award winners in advancing the field of social innovation in collaboration with corporate, government and academic stakeholders. Selected social entrepreneurs of the Schwab Foundation network participate in World Economic Forum events, thus providing unique opportunities for them to connect with business, political and media leaders. http://www.schwabfound.org.
About the World Economic Forum on Africa 2015
More than 1,250 participants are taking part in the 25th World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, South Africa from 3 to 5 June 2015. The theme of the meeting is “Then and Now: Reimagining Africa’s Future”.
The Co-Chairs of the World Economic on Africa are: Antony Jenkins, Group Chief Executive, Barclays, United Kingdom; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Undersecretary-General and Executive Director, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN), New York; Patrice Motsepe, Founder and Executive Chairman, African Rainbow Minerals, South Africa; Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever, United Kingdom; and Sir Michael Rake, Chairman, BT Group, United Kingdom.
Notes to Editors
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