Serving platforms for budding social entrepreneurs

Ashoka Innovation in collaboration with SAP CSR MENA hosted its ‘ChangemakerXchange Talks and Actions’ in the Kingdom, where leading social entrepreneurs from the Mena region shared their stories. The event held at the University of Bahrain aimed at inspiring youngsters to take up social entrepreneurship. Speaking to Tribune, Greta Rossi, co-founder and CEO of Akasha Innovation, said, “ChangemakerXchange is a global collaboration platform for the world’s top young social innovators.

It is a co-creation of Ashoka, the world’s first and largest social entrepreneurship network, and the Robert Bosch Stiftung, one of Europe’s biggest foundations. We select, connect, and empower young ‘changemakers’; young people who dedicate their lives to tackling some of society’s most pressing challenges and have the skills and mindsets to collaborate to amplify their impact.

“Our diverse community currently counts over 600 young social innovators that are aged 18-35 who are working on a vast range of social and environmental issues, from human trafficking to eating disorders in Europe, to interfaith dialogue in the Philippines. The ChangemakerXchange community spreads across three continents, from Dublin to Dakar and from Beirut to Bali.

“These summits focus on enabling human connections, nurturing well-being, empowering peer-learning, and fostering collaboration. By creating a space for these like-minded changemakers to connect, learn, and collaborate, we enhance the individual and collective impact of our members and empower them to inspire others to bring about positive change in the world.

“We invited six of our top social entrepreneurs from the MENA region to tell their stories and share their skills to empower other young people to get started on their change-making journey.”