Ashoka's Venture Fund for Leading Social Entrepreneurs

Ashoka Fellow Criteria
A New idea:
Is the person possessed by a truly new idea for solving a public need? Is it a truly transformational innovation,
or just a tweaking of how things are now done?
Ashoka only elects individuals who possess a new idea, a new solution to a social problem that will change the
pattern in a field at the regional or national level. A new school or clinic does not meet Ashoka’s definition of a
new idea; there must be a vision of a new pattern for education or health care that promises to change schools
or clinics all across the candidate’s country or region.
Creativity:
Is this person creative both in vision and in problem solving?
Successful social entrepreneurs must be creative not only in goal-setting but also in solving the problems that
inevitably arise while pursuing their vision. They must use their creativity day after day in order to succeed. To
evaluate whether or not someone possesses this essential creativity, Ashoka examines his or her track record
of developing creative solutions from youth onward.
Entrepreneurial Quality:
Is it impossible for this person to rest until his or her vision is the new pattern across society, even if it involves
years of grappling with “how-to” issues?
Ashoka looks for people who are married to their idea and will keep developing it if need be for decades.
Social entrepreneurs are practical and pragmatic. They know how to overcome obstacles, and are driven both
by their idea and by the will to make that idea an institutionalized reality.
Social impact of the New idea:
Is the idea new, practical, and useful enough that others will adopt it once it has been demonstrated? If so,
how many people will be affected by this idea, to what degree, and how beneficially?
Ashoka is interested in ideas that will, over the long term, change the candidate’s field significantly and that
will trigger widespread impact. Social entrepreneurship not only needs an extraordinary person to develop an
idea but also a powerful, practical idea that will spread on its own merits.
Ethical Fiber:
If you were in danger, would you instinctively trust this person? Would you trust him or her in a position of
power?
There are three reasons why this criterion is critical to Ashoka. First, significant social entrepreneurs ask
people to make major changes in behavior, which is highly unlikely without trust. Second, Ashoka’s greatest
power, our community, does not work if even one person in the room is untrustworthy. Finally, we do not want
to add to the supply of untrustworthy public leaders.