The Schwab Foundation is running a competition, looking for the Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2009 from the different regions of the world.
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is a not-for-profit, independent and neutral organization, founded in 1998, with the purpose to advance social entrepreneurship and to foster social entrepreneurs as an important catalyst for societal innovation and progress.
The most important criteria to be considered a finalist are:
- An innovative product or service
- An idea that has been sustained through a successful infrastructure
- The implemented idea has a direct social impact
- You were able to reach beyond the initial context
- Your idea is applicable to other situations, regions and countries
The winners will be included in the Schwab Foundation network of social entrepreneurs. This includes access to a peer network of social entrepreneurs, special benefits such as pro-bono consulting services and scholarships to executive education courses at world-class institutions such as Harvard Business School, Stanford University and INSEAD.
The winners will also be invited to one regional meeting of the World Economic Forum.
Excellent finalists or winners under 40 will also be nominated to the Young Global Leaders network of the World Economic Forum. Worldclass social entrepreneurs will be invited to join the global social entrepreneur community, which includes the possibility to be invited to the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos and to contribute to the Global Agenda Councils of the Forum.
For more information on the competition and the detailed criteria to join, you can check out the competition site.
The deadline for submissions from the Middle East and North Africa is February 16th 2009, and you can apply online here.