The Social Entrepreneur of the Year in Venezuela

“The situation in Venezuela is going to get worse before it gets better”, I heard often when I was in Venezuela earlier this week.

There are many reasons to believe this to be true: teenage pregnancy rates are soaring, the number of children growing up in poverty is skyrocketing and the incidence of violent crime, for items as small as a mobile phone, are becoming commonplace. On top of it all, the economic potential of the country is slowly disappearing as the country`s best educated professionals and most entrepreneurial talent have moved abroad for better opportunities.

Two years ago, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship launched a national social entrepreneur competition in Venezuela to identify individuals who use innovative, market-based and scalable solutions to address important societal needs.  Our local partner, Fundacion Venezuela Sin Limites (VSL) is a dynamic family foundation committed to supporting community driven solutions that deliver positive social change in the lives of millions of Venezuelans.

This week, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, along with VSL, awarded Tomas Sanabria of Maniapure with the 2011 Social Entrepeneur of the Year for Venezuela. Dr Sanabria, a cardiologist by training, uses mobile technology to deliver healthcare to the most remote areas of Venezuela, and is currently expanding its operations in Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and the Dominican Republic.

Thanks to a comprehensive and rigorous search and selection process, VSL identified 4 other extraordinary finalists, among hundreds of applicants, who are serving incredibly important needs in one of most challenging political-economic contexts of the world. I would briefly like to highlight these four organizations:

• José Vicente Aguerrevere, a Harvard Business School graduate whose provides affordable food and household products to nearly 70,000 customers at base of the pyramid using innovative purchase plans and streamlined supply chains through his stores,  Supermercados Día a Día,
• María Teresa Urbina, founder of Unifertes, uses community theatre to raise awareness and empower adolescents on teenage pregnancy
• Jorge Carlesso, whose organization, Operación Sonrisa (Operation Smile) has provided free medical care to over 7,000 children born with cleft palates and other skin or facial structure abnormalities.
• Lilver Tovar, the founder of Doctor Yaso, an organization that mobilizes thousands of volunteers to visit hospitals nationwide with entertainment and social activities.

All four of the finalists, along with the winner Dr Sanabria, were recognized during a high profile awards ceremony in Caracas. After the ceremony, the finalists came up to thank the Schwab Foundation and VSL for the rewarding experience of being recognized internationally (many for the first time) for their work. Yet, I could not help but think that it is the rest of us who will reap the rewards of their tireless efforts.

These visionary and committed individuals together can transform the lack of opportunities facing many Venezuelans into access to opportunities for education, healthcare, financial services among other things for millions of Venezuelans. As Margaret Meade said, “Never doubt that a small group of people can change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that has.”

It may get worse before it gets better…but with these social entrepreneurs on the ground in Venezuela it will for sure get better.

Abigail Noble

 

Editor's note
Abigail Noble, Head, Latin America and Africa, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship