Social Investment Entrepreneur (SIE) Fellows

Teyfik Sahin in a classroom
Source: Gefangene helfen Jugendlichen

Ashoka's Social Investment Entrepreneur (SIE) Initiative identifies, invests in and supports leading social entrepreneurs who are pursuing innovative approaches to access new sources of capital and use market dynamics to create social impact. Elected as Social Investment Entrepreneur (SIE) Fellows, these leading social entrepreneurs join Ashoka's global network of top social and business entrepreneurs, enjoy strategic support and opportunities to collaborate, and often receive stipends.

Social entrepreneurs are increasingly tapping into market mechanisms and investment approaches to address society’s most pressing problems - often while realizing financial returns as well. Through engaging financial capital markets, social entrepreneurs can achieve an unprecedented scale of impact. Ashoka Social Investment Entrepreneur (SIE) Fellows share the mission of creating new ways to connect capital to social impact. SIE Fellows lead the social capital markets with ventures ranging from small startups to major organizations channeling hundreds of millions of dollars. They work across the spectrum of social problems ranging from poverty and healthcare to education and housing.

To date, the 41 Ashoka SIE Fellows we’ve identified have loaned over $250 million to rural communities, raised more than $75 million for classroom projects, and invested over $14 million in building human capital. Their work has brought down the barriers to higher education, lifted people from poverty, and driven sustainable economic growth. Each of their solutions is powerful. But the impact of Ashoka SIE Fellows is far greater than building a successful business. Ashoka SIE Fellows transform industries and create new markets. They are the pioneers of the emerging $500 billion impact investing industry.

Financial Market Dynamics

Ashoka's SIE Fellows: