Making ideas take root

Visionary schemes scoop prizes It’s all very well setting global commitments to ‘make poverty history’. But someone’s got to turn these good ideas into reality. Enter: the social entrepreneurs. These pioneers of change were recognised for their imaginative ways of addressing social issues at the recent Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship, where over $7 million was handed out to projects that push the boundaries of traditional ‘aid and development’. Amongst them was Ann Cotton, who started out selling cakes in Cambridge to raise money to send 32 Zimbabwean girls to school. She’s now at the helm of the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED), working to break down the barriers that keep African girls out of the classroom - with a view to them one day becoming leaders in their own communities. Microfinance was the ‘empowering tool’ wielded by former investment banker William Footner. His Boston-based outfit, EcoLogic Finance, provides low-interest loans to Latin American farmers who are undertaking the tough transition from cheap slash-and-burn agriculture to greener methods. Others focused their efforts on encouraging action back home in the wealthy West - by creating a demand for rugs made without child labour, for example, or putting video cameras into the hands of human rights activists. Meanwhile, UnLtd is busy distributing Millennium Awards specifically to social entrepreneurs in Britain. The charity is sitting on an endowment of over £100 million that’s just begging to make its way to energetic individuals who are improving their communities… - Hannah Bullock

17 June 2005

Hannah Bullock