Social Entrepreneurs on the Trail to Davos

As the end of January is nearing, so is the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, which will officially start on Wednesday 26 January and last until Sunday 30 January. For the 10th consecutive Annual Meeting, Social Entrepreneurs of the Schwab Foundation community will be full participants and represent the “voice from the ground”.

The 26 Social Entrepreneurs making their way up to the snowy mountain town of Davos next week are coming from around the world. Four of them are from India, which is the host country of this year’s Annual Meeting under the theme “Inclusive Growth”. They contribute to India’s potential for inclusive growth, reaching millions of people through alternative energy provision (SELCO), literacy improvement (Planet Read), healthcare (Aravind Eye Hospital) and primary education (RIVER).

Smaller countries are also represented. Anne Hastings, Founder of Fonkoze, Haiti’s largest microfinance organization, will present its approach in a “Solutions Lab”. Sakena Yacoobi, Founder of the Afghan Institute of Learning, will speak in an Open Forum session entitled “Has the West Failed in Afghanistan?”

Others will be arriving from Mexico, South Africa, Colombia, Jordan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Bosnia, Australia, the United States, Cambodia, Brazil, Kuwait and Tanzania. We are telling them to bring warm winter boots and many business cards.

 

For the full list and short descriptions of the Social Entrepreneurs, follow this link. For more on the participating Social Entrepreneurs and the Annual Meeting programme, follow the blog in the coming days.

 

Mirjam Schöning
Head and Senior Director
Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship