78%
of Fellows have
partnered with
schools or Universities
partnered with
schools or Universities
79%
of Fellows have
partnered with local or national governments
partnered with local or national governments
.
OUR IMPACT
We pioneered the field 40 years ago and have supported more than 3,800 Ashoka Fellows across the globe, guiding them to grow unexpected ideas into transformative social progress. Time and again we’ve seen these extraordinary changemakers and their teams move mountains. Ashoka accompanies them along their journey – with catalytic investments, with strategic guidance, and with an unmatched peer-to-peer community.
New! Check out our Year at a Glance
+270
Ashoka Fellows in the U.S. with system-changing ideas*
$20,000,000
Raised and invested by Ashoka in U.S. social entrepreneurs alone since 2001.
40,000
People reached directly per Fellow on average (600,000
reached indirectly).
80%
Of Fellows have influenced national policy and/or had their idea replicated by independent groups.
74%
Of Fellows in the U.S. say that Ashoka has significantly increased their impact.
TOP 5
Ranked top 5 most influential NGO in the world for the second year in a row (2017 & 2018 - NGO Advisor)
*Systems change = changing rules, roles, behavior and norms so that the root cause of a problem gets tackled. Read Embracing Complexity for a deeper dive.
<—
Our network
To date, Ashoka has selected over 3,800 social entrepreneurs in 90+ countries, whose systems-changing innovations solve deep-rooted social problems.
Ashoka Fellows worldwide
– Canada
– USA
– USA
– Argentina
– Belize
– Brazil
– Bolivia
– Colombia
– Costa Rica
– Chile
– Ecuador
– El Salvador
– Guatemala
– Haiti
– Honduras
– Mexico
– Nicaragua
– Paraguay
– Peru
– Uruguay
– Venezuela
– Belize
– Brazil
– Bolivia
– Colombia
– Costa Rica
– Chile
– Ecuador
– El Salvador
– Guatemala
– Haiti
– Honduras
– Mexico
– Nicaragua
– Paraguay
– Peru
– Uruguay
– Venezuela
– Benin
– Botswana
– Burkina Faso
– Cameroon
– Ghana
– Guinea-Bissau
– Ivory Coast
– Kenya
– Liberia
– Malawi
– Mali
– Mozambique
– Niger
– Nigeria
– Rwanda
– Senegal
– South Africa
– Tanzania
– Togo
– Uganda
– Zambia
– Zimbabwe
– Botswana
– Burkina Faso
– Cameroon
– Ghana
– Guinea-Bissau
– Ivory Coast
– Kenya
– Liberia
– Malawi
– Mali
– Mozambique
– Niger
– Nigeria
– Rwanda
– Senegal
– South Africa
– Tanzania
– Togo
– Uganda
– Zambia
– Zimbabwe
– Bangladesh
– Hong Kong
– India
– Indonesia
– Japan
– Malaysia
– Nepal
– Pakistan
– Philippines
– Sinagpore
– South Korea
– Sri Lanka
– Thailand
– Timor Leste
– Hong Kong
– India
– Indonesia
– Japan
– Malaysia
– Nepal
– Pakistan
– Philippines
– Sinagpore
– South Korea
– Sri Lanka
– Thailand
– Timor Leste
– Afghanistan
– Egypt
– Israel
– Jordan
– Kuwait
– Lebanon
– Libya
– Morocco
– Tunisia
– Saudi Arabia
– United Arab Emirates
– Egypt
– Israel
– Jordan
– Kuwait
– Lebanon
– Libya
– Morocco
– Tunisia
– Saudi Arabia
– United Arab Emirates
– Austria
– Belgium
– Czechia
– Denmark
– France
– Germany
– Greece
– Hungary
– Iceland
– Ireland
– Italy
– Latvia
– Lithuania
– Netherlands
– Norway
– Poland
– Portugal
– Romania
– Slovakia
– Spain
– Sweden
– Switzerland
– Turkey
– United Kingdom
– Belgium
– Czechia
– Denmark
– France
– Germany
– Greece
– Hungary
– Iceland
– Ireland
– Italy
– Latvia
– Lithuania
– Netherlands
– Norway
– Poland
– Portugal
– Romania
– Slovakia
– Spain
– Sweden
– Switzerland
– Turkey
– United Kingdom
312
North America
578
Europe
117
Middle East & North Africa
1030
South America
469
Africa
1035
Asia
Ashoka Fellows are
a diverse community
Field of work
11%
Enviroment
18%
Education
20%
Economic Development
17%
Health
17%
Civic Participation
17%
Human Rights
Gender
60%
Female (elected in the U.S. since 2016)
40%
Male (elected in the U.S. since 2016)
The Ashoka effect
We surveyed all of our fellows on the impact that Ashoka has had on them.
01.
Identifying and supporting
these individuals often gives them their first significant source of funding
these individuals often gives them their first significant source of funding
92% of fellows report the Ashoka stipend helped them focus full time on their idea.
02.
Ashoka gives Fellows access to
a powerful global network, and helps them think in system-change terms that leads to changes in their strategy.
On average, Fellows report collaborating or partnering with 4 other Ashoka Fellows after being elected.
86% report that Ashoka helped them see their work at a systems change level, and of those Fellows, 92% made changes to their strategy
89% of Fellows report that Ashoka changed how they see themselves as a leader, and of those Fellows, 94% are leading differently as a result.
03.
After election Ashoka Fellows are changing public policy, legislation, and market systems
93% have achieved change in market systems
74% have achieved change in legislation or influenced public policy
Growing impact
Ashoka focuses growing ideas, not growing organizations. Ashoka Fellows know that in order to spread their idea quickly and turn it into society’s new normal, they must use innovative strategies to get their idea into the hands of as many pollinators as possible.
69%
of Fellows have actively encouraged others to replicate their idea or have open-sourced their idea
90%
of Fellows have seen
their idea replicated by independent groups
their idea replicated by independent groups
Fellows in the news
How Root Capital and the IKEA Foundation are Building the Resilience of Smallholder Farmers in East Africa
Willy Foote announced a new partnership with Ikea Foundation to help 260,000 farming families in East Africa increase their incomes and climate resiliency.
Keep Reading
Alfonso Cuaron Brings Activist Ai-jen Poo to the Golden Globes
Roma’s director Alfredo Cuaron brings Ashoka Fellow Ai-jen Poo, the executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, to the Golden Globes
Keep Reading
INTRODUCING: The 10 people transforming healthcare
Who’s transforming healthcare in the US? Business Insider announced the year's top 10 innovators, a list that includes Ashoka Fellow Rushika Fernandopulle, co-founder of Iora Health, along with our longtime Ashoka friend and supporter Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of 23andMe.
Keep Reading
“If one were to examine the forensics of significant impact in healthcare, education or the environment, they would often find the fingerprints of Ashoka”
Stuart Davidson
Sonen Capital Partner
LABRADOR VENTURES
“[Ashoka’s vision] represents a radical departure from a world in which, for millennia, elites have been telling most everyone else what to do.”
The New York Times
“Ashoka is a living encyclopedia of social innovation in every field around the world.”
Jimmy Wales
Founder of Wikipedia
ASHOKA FELLOW
“Team Ashoka delivers impact by being a changemaker for the changemakers – and in doing so, delivers a compelling bang for one’s philanthropic buck.”
James Jensen
The Jenesis Group
“The engaged global community of social entrepreneurs that Ashoka has fostered helps each one of them to have more impact than would have been possible individually.”
Pierre Omidyar
Ebay Founder
“I’m continuing to learn from the Fellows, because we all face similar challenges and there are solutions that we end up bringing to the table together. I never had access to those kinds of folks, or to that kind of space where we can cry together, be challenged together, dream together. It really has taken a role in my life.”
“When possibilities feel ended, Ashoka fellows show that they are endless. When we feel broken down, the Ashoka network helps break us open. And when our culture asks us to imagine worse, Ashoka asks us to imagine better.”
“Ashoka is different. It seems weird to think that a fellowship that lifts up incredible people, who represent incredible communities, would be able to do so in the most humble of ways — but that’s how Ashoka moves.”