The Lesser Known Social Entrepreneurs(All Social Entrepreneurs)
This is not one of those lists that has the only 5 famous social entrepreneurs to ever have existed, it seems, such as Bill Drayton, Blake Mycoskie Muhammad Yunus etc., just so I can boost my SEO. If you don’t know who they are then just check one of the exhaustive lists of the top 5 social entrepreneurs out there. This is a list showcasing, as the title suggests, the lesser known social entrepreneur, the guy, girl or non-binary person that shows us that ‘We We All Needed’ (see what I did there?) regardless of our means.
So, in no particular order:
1) Charlotte Mararv from Ndara- Charlotte was raised in the Central African Republic by Swedish parents. It is in the CAR that she has started Ndara Ti Beafrika (meaning skilled in Sango, the native language). Ndara is 14 local artisans that sew and crochet products made from local recycled material and was born out of Charlotte’s own frustration around the narrative of the CAR painted by mainstream media. Charlotte’s view is that as long as the media only reports on the atrocities in the CAR, much like the doom mongering around climate change, people will view the problems as too large to overcome and thus create apathy instead. What Charlotte and the artisans are trying to do, in very difficult circumstances, is to change that narrative and be a guiding light to tell a story of hope and resilience that typifies the people of the CAR.
2) Fay Grant & Michelle Chavez from The Tote Project- I love this project. Ok I hear you say, what is so amazing about tote bags? You can get a tote bag from anyone. That’s true but not everyone donates a part of their hard earned profits to support human trafficking, over $50000 and counting! It doesn’t just stop there either as Fay and Michelle, the founders and best friends, also donate their time to the Qualified Academy, where they donate their money, to teach survivors in entrepreneurship and technology training. When we talk about social entrepreneurship, there is no better example, if 50% of the big businesses out there had this kind of commitment to one cause imagine how different the World would look. But that is what makes them unique, they are prepared to do what most businesses and people aren’t. Founded in 2013, The Tote Project, was born out of Fay’s own childhood experiences of abuse and as she puts it herself, “ The Tote Project is a way to show people that painful experiences don’t have to feed into fear, shame and regret but instead can be turned into compassionate, loving action for the greater good.” Amen to that sister!
3) Weh Yeoh from Umbo- I think there might be a song in there, or at least a chant?! All joking aside, this guy has been living the life we all really wanted to live, or me at least. From starting a charity in Cambodia to establishing speech therapy as a profession, to milking yaks in Mongolia while squeezing in learning mandarin in Bejing, it seems Weh has done it all. I think Weh’s life is typical of social entrepreneurs, they have a curiosity for life and a zeal to see for themselves the problems in the world. Driven with a passion for the injustices and unfairness they have often witnessed they start social enterprises in an attempt to balance the scales. Back in his home country of Australia Weh has founded Umbo which provides speech therapy and occupational therapy online. In a country that is the 3rd least-densely populated in the world, Umbo provides a much needed service to those in rural areas of Australia that just don’t have the accessibility to those services. They can be connected directly with a therapist online. In Between all this Weh has also written a book called ‘Redundant Charities’ and done a Ted X talk, so let's all raise a glass of yak’s milk to Weh, cheers!
There you go! A quick rundown of 3 lesser known entrepreneurs but luckily for you you can get to know them better by listening to the ‘We Are All Needed’ Podcast. What?! I’ve got to get that SEO in somehow. Till next time.
Xx
Alex Nash