Experiencing social entrepreneurship in partnership with J.P. Morgan

How do J.P. Morgan collaborators experience Social Entrepreneurship through the mentoring of Ashoka's Social Entrepreneurs?

It is no secret that Ashoka believes in the transformative power of an innovative idea in the hands of an entrepreneur. Changing systems for the better requires collaboration between different stakeholders, an explosion of creative and purposeful endeavours between entities to establish new ways of interacting and learning from one another. "Experiencing Social Entrepreneurship", is a partnership for change that matches J.P. Morgan mentors with Ashoka Social Entrepreneurs. Ashoka Switzerland and J.P. Morgan launched a new mentoring program in January 2016 that brings 51 J.P. Morgan employees and 15 social entrepreneurs together to solve specific challenges social entrepreneurs are facing, by sharing their skills and insights during a six-month engagement.

-----

The objective of "Experiencing Social Entrepreneurship" is to build a purpose-driven enterprise’s capacity to deliver on its social goals, while spurring the personal and professional development of bank employees that volunteer for this program. Our collaborator J.P. Morgan aims to use its global financial services expertise to lead and contribute to initiatives that drive economic growth and strengthen communities across the world.

The 51 J.P. Morgan mentors were matched with 15 social entrepreneurs from around the world to solve a challenge the social entrepreneurs are facing. Since June and until October, they are engaging in weekly calls, sharing ideas, insights and skills and supporting their social entrepreneur with the best of their abilities. All teams are being monitored by the Ashoka Switzerland team in order to ensure that agreed targets and goals are being met for the proposed deadline in fall 2016.

At the end of the program all teams will have a concrete result reaching from a new controlling system over a business plan to an impact measurement strategy. All this will lead to a larger social impact in society.

We wish the mentors and social entrepreneurs good luck in solving the various challenges, experiencing social entrepreneurship, developing intrapreneurship skills, and being part of the exciting Ashoka journey.