Bill Drayton, the founder of Ashoka, is not only a social entrepreneur, but one of the people who popularized the term in the first place. Social entrepreneurs are the “innovators for the public” Ashoka seeks out and supports.
Devex sat down with Drayton at the Social Capital Markets conference in San Francisco to talk about the future of what he calls an “everyone a changemaker” world. He emphasized the need for replication rather than scale, calling this Silicon Valley buzz word not only overused but also misleading and unhelpful.
Drayton identified three levels of impact — direct service, pattern change and framework change — explaining that “scaling” is only appropriate for direct service. And he said that once a social entrepreneur does his or her prototype work, the focus has to transition to pattern change and mindset change.
Drayton also explained what the global development community can do to seize this moment, emphasizing in particular the need to reframe the way development organizations prepare young people to succeed.
“When you move from repetition to a world defined by change, it's not just different, it's the opposite,” Drayton said.
Drayton said this is a moment crying out for people to provide leadership. The rate of change is accelerating faster and faster, he explained, and the global development community has a huge role to play in making sure that people are not left behind at this turning point.
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About the author
Catherine Cheneycatherinecheney
Catherine Cheney is a Senior Reporter for Devex. She covers the West Coast of the U.S., focusing on the role of technology and innovation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. And she frequently represents Devex as a speaker and moderator. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, worked as a web producer for POLITICO and reporter for World Politics Review, and helped to launch NationSwell. Catherine has reported from all over the world, and freelanced for outlets including the Atlantic and the Washington Post. She is also the West Coast ambassador for the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit that trains and connects journalists to cover responses to problems.