Asia “Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2011” Winners Announced

Five social entrepreneurs from 4 organizations have been recognized as Asia 'Social Entrepreneurs of the Year,' joining a global network of leading social entrepreneurs from over 50 countries. The awards will be conferred by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship during the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of New Champions from 14-16 September, which brings together 45 members of the Schwab Foundation community. (download news release)

Demonstrating successful impact in Cambodia, Japan, the Philippines and Pakistan, these social enterprises address healthcare access, clean water supply, the distribution of everyday goods in hard to reach areas, and the nutritional imbalance in under-served communities.

“The selection of winners this year reflects an unprecedented diversity of Asian social enterprises whose work has transformative implications both locally and globally,” says Hilde Schwab, Chairperson and Co-Founder of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. “We see a proliferation of services for low-income consumers such as micro-insurance and micro-enterprise development. We also see a deliberate effort from social enterprises to collaborate more closely with companies to multiply that impact.”

The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is proud to award the following innovators the title of Asia Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2011. 

Bam Aquino & Mark Ruiz – Hapinoy – Philippines
Hapinoy taps into microfinance networks to provide business coaching, leadership training, and store branding to women micro-entrepreneurs owning small stores in peri-urban and rural areas.  Through bulk-sourcing and supply delivery in the Hapinoy network, store owners have access to ~5-15% cost savings and a greater variety of goods, all of which are passed on to their respective communities.  Small producers can tap into this friendlier distribution ecosystem of over 10,000 stores, while larger companies have the opportunity to pilot products.

Lo Chay – 1001 fontaines pour demain – Cambodia
More than 900 million people around the world living in rural areas do not have access to safe drinking water. Using sand filtration and solar-powered water purification technology, 1001 fontaines provides clean, affordable drinking water to over 50,000 people at a price of UDS $0.01/liter.  To encourage local ownership, village entrepreneurs are trained to sell and distribute the water as well as maintain the water production site.

Asher Hasan – Naya Jeevan – Pakistan
Naya Jeevan partners with corpations to roll out catastrophic health insurance to low-income workers making less than USD $6 per day.  Drivers, nannies, cooks, waiters, and security guards can be insured at USD $2.50 per month with a yearly coverage limit of approximately USD $1780. Naya Jeevan also packages the insurance with a variety of high-touch value added services, such as annual medical checks, preventative care workshops, as well as access to a 24-hour medical care and claims assistance hotline.

Masa Kogure – Table for Two (TFT) – Japan
One in seven people suffer from malnutrition, whereas 1.6 billion adults in the world are overweight or have health conditions related to 'over-nutrition.'  TFT corrects this imbalance by transferring excess calories across the globe from developed countries to developing countries.  Corporate cafeterias, university dining halls, and public restaurants serve balanced and healthy TFT meals, donating USD $0.20 per meal to lunches in impoverished African schools.

 

Vivian Gee

 

Editor's note
Vivian Gee, Head, Asia 
Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship