For Ashoka: Innovation is changing the world!

(Those who already know KESTIO will recognize in these actions our values: # 2 Act as an agent of change, #5 Promote the transmission of knowledge and #7 Be passionate and proud of our profession as consultants!) To tell you more about the activities of this international organization, we've asked Maylis Portmann, Fellowship Manager at Ashoka, to take the floor.

• Can you tell us a little about Ashoka?

Ashoka is the world's^leading network of social entrepreneurs.

Founded 30 years ago by the American Bill Drayton (formerly of Mc Kinsey and head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), the association is now present in 80 countries, supporting 3,000 social entrepreneurs in the realization of their projects. These are innovative projects with a real social impact.

Currently, for example, we support projects as diverse as :

• • The development of digital tools and edutainment content to enable autistic children to develop their potential, and to provide appropriate support for those involved in their education (parents, teachers, specialized educators, etc.): LearnEnjoy project, which democratizes access to the best educational strategies, so that all children with special needs have the right to them without discrimination, led by Gaele Regnault.
  • The fight against cultural isolation and lack of information in difficult or extreme situations (refugee camps, developing countries) through the "IdeasBox" concept (Media library in tent "kit": multimedia tools and library, 100 m2 space assembled in flight cases held on 2 pallets, designed by Philippe Stark). Project led by Jeremy Lachal and the association Bibliothèques sans Frontières (co-founded by historian Patrick Weil).
  • The implementation of adapted physical activity programs as a genuine preventive therapeutic tool in the service of Sustainable Health for sensitive target groups: the elderly or disabled, physically demanding professions, to help them maintain their health and autonomy and prevent chronic pathologies. Siel Bleu project supported by Jean Michel Ricard.

Our mission: to identify and support innovative social entrepreneurs, to foster encounters and collaboration between these social entrepreneurs, public institutions and the business world, and finally, to contribute to the emergence of the next generations of change-makers through an "education" component.

 

For the mobile application project to track and manage water consumption, for example, one of the elements of our support program was to put the project leaders in touch with KESTIO consultants to help them approach and convince their potential prescribers (in this case, major companies in the insurance sector, in particular) to encourage the development of sales of their product.

• What is a social entrepreneur?

When we talk about social entrepreneurs, we mean the word "entrepreneur" in the broadest sense, i.e. independently of the notion of a company's legal status. We support projects with associative or foundation status, as well as companies in the strict sense of the term.

A social entrepreneur, as we understand it, is first and foremost an innovative project leader whose idea is strong enough to make a difference in his or her field. What counts is the project's interest, its innovative character and its anticipated impact, i.e. its potential capacity to solve a large-scale societal problem.

 

In practice,the sectors most often concerned are education, health, human rights, sustainable development, integration and the fight against exclusion...

Ashoka's core business is to identify, select and support these potential companies, to give them a real boost to their development and ensure the conditions for their "spin-off".

• What is your role within Ashoka?

I'm in charge of managing the Fellows program (the name we give to the social entrepreneurs we support) for France, Belgium and Switzerland.

I organize the actions put in place with the "^Pro-bono1 " partners of which you are a part, i.e. the various players (public authorities and private companies) ready to commit to giving their time and sharing their expertise in a co-construction approach with social entrepreneurs and members of civil society to move their projects forward.

In concrete terms, this translates into the organization of themed meeting days or regular workshops , during which fellows benefit from expert input on various subjects (legal, commercial, HR, communication, know-how, etc.) and role-playing exercises enabling them to co-construct with the partners present.

During the weekend recently held in Lyon, for example, the fellows worked with KESTIO on best practices for approaching a partner or customer and presenting their project or solution. They also took part in workshops led by SIMPLON on design thinking, or in a Lego Scrum to learn in a fun, team-based way how to manage a project and meet their customers' expectations.

• How do you measure the impact of your work with Fellows in the field?

To measure the impact of our actions, we evaluate the spin-offs of the activities of the social entrepreneurs we support and their evolution over 5 and 10 years (impact studies, etc.). Measuring Effectiveness).

This allows us to know, for example, that 94% of the social entrepreneurs selected by Ashoka continue to develop their project 5 years after joining the network: a sign of their viability and the relevance of the development conditions implemented at the outset.

 

Such a "success rate" is no coincidence: Fellow status is obtained after a demanding selection process, lasting 6 to 8 months! But it is then "acquired for life".

Two other figures that make us particularly happy and proud: 91% of these projects are replicated (in other countries, for example), and 54% of them have an impact on policy in their own country! This is proof that they provide an effective response to real, shared social challenges.

In very concrete terms, when we support the C&A Foundation, for example, which researches and identifies players in the textile value chain who implement production conditions that respect the environment and people, we are actively helping to advance issues relating to health, respect for human rights, social and economic development and respect for the environment!

From a more qualitative point of view, the impact study carried out among fellows in France, Switzerland and Belgium by MFR Consulting reveals what Ashoka represents for them : a "gas pedal" to maximize the potential of the business and its creator; a community of peers and expert resources; and lastly, a place of trust, support and experience that enables them to avoid the pitfalls that are sometimes fatal to this type of project.