Ashoka in Southern Africa

Our longest-running cornerstone program is Venture and Fellowship, through which we select catalytic social entrepreneurs, with the potential to achieve impact in their organization and transform systems. Ashoka Fellows are leading social entrepreneurs who are tackling the toughest challenges facing society today. Since launching Ashoka in Southern Africa, we have elected and supported over 167 social innovators.

Ashoka’s Venture program begins with a proactive search and rigorous selection process to find the next Fellows to join the Ashoka community. Each year we receive over 100 nominations and applications in the region.  

The  Fellowship program offers financial and non-financial strategic support to its members. We focus on leveraging our network of peers and supporters, honing in on key topics such as systems change, financial and personal sustainability, and providing strategic opportunities to Fellows throughout their careers and stages of development as the non-financial support is not time-bound. A Fellow may be at an inflection point to get an innovative idea off the ground or may have already achieved national impact and made a “scratch on history” with their idea.  

"Ashoka has been instrumental in providing me the space and tools needed to personally grow as a social entrepreneur. Facilitating priceless interactions with like minded and driven changemakers and supporting my needs as a business owner enabling me to take my business to the next level”

~ Claire Reid, Reel Gardening, Fellow Since 2018

Ashoka is on an audacious mission to create a world where everyone is a changemaker: where everyone has the agency, empathy, and skills to make positive changes in their communities. It is only in such a world that the solutions will outrun our social problems and can make a huge difference on the African continent. In a world that is changing fast and in ways it never has before, it is more important than ever that we all have a voice and power. Given the demographics of the African continent, we are focusing the changemaker approach on young people. In order to achieve large-scale change beyond isolated projects, our strategy is the following:   

• Form a core “team of teams”: made up of Ashoka Fellows active in education and youth development, Changemaker schools, Youth, and partners to identify opportunities, co-create actions, test them and Ashoka roll them out in Africa.  
• Identify and engage young leaders (12-20 years old) who embody changemaking and become ambassadors of the Everyone a Changemaker movement.  
• Mobilize and engage influential organizations that can contribute to norm shifting on empathy and changemaking. They fall within six categories: schools of education, education publishers, media, government, companies targeting young people (ex: telecoms, financial services), and unions.  
• Seeding a culture of changemaking: Through media partnerships and storytelling, we push the message of the future where everyone is powerful, owns the future, and shapes it.    

The above approach was piloted in Nigeria and we are rolling out this new strategy in Southern Africa. We are closely working with LEAP schools, gold Youth, Young Africa, and Girl Move amongst others. 

Ashoka Africa Builders is a community of successful and innovative leaders from the corporate, investment or public sectors who connect with Ashoka’s leading social entrepreneurs to accelerate positive social change. They support Ashoka financially as well as strategically, offering their network, time and expertise. 

Based on the success of the Ashoka Support Network around the world (ASN), Ashoka Africa is in the process of launching a committed and collaborative community of Ashoka Builders who are eager to roll up their sleeves and support Ashoka, Ashoka Fellows, young leaders and Changemaker schools on the continent intensify and scale their impact. 

Are you a business leader and do you want to share your expertise?

Join the founding circle of Ashoka Africa Builders Network in Southern Africa. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us to learn more about how members bring value to and benefit from the Ashoka network, and email [email protected] with any questions about the program. 

Ashoka Africa Builders Brochure

Read about the ASN

Ashoka has incepted Changemaker Companies to accelerate the rise of an inclusive & regenerative economy. We believe changemaking is in everyone, everywhere. The biggest economic players are instrumental in advancing the narrative that everyone can contribute to solving the world’s problems. We are therefore on a mission to find partners who want to embrace a business culture where everyone is a changemaker. A culture where creating positive societal impact through business is the new norm. We believe good business happens from the inside-out, and partner with corporate leaders who want to engage stakeholders to drive systemic change within their company. Our activities include:  

1. The Lab: CMC is partnering with pioneer companies willing to experiment with new ways of working to shift their culture & lead systemic change in their industry.  

2. The Wave: CMC hosts space for companies to explore, connect, share, and learn with a community of peers with similar ambitions and challenges, and empowers companies to become drivers of innovation at the intersection of impact and business transformation.  

3. The Movement: CMC helps accelerate the adoption of changemaking and social innovation in business and enhances the narratives through advocacy and influence work. 

Our corporate partners include Boehringer Ingelheim, EY, and Microsoft. We would like African companies to join us. Don't hesitate to get in touch with us for more information.  

The Ashoka Africa Impact Report highlights our work and impact in Africa for 2022. It serves as an overview of all the above mentioned programmes, eco-system building events, Fellows, Young Changemakers, and network of supporters.

Read the Full Report Here

We were so proud to introduce three new Fellows to our family of Changemakers this year. On November 9th, we officially welcomed Thembiso Magajana of Social Coding SA, Dixon Chibanda of Friendship Bench Zimbabwe and Murendeni Mafumo of Kusini Waters SA to Ashoka Fellowship.