ASHOKA

FRANCE / BELGIUM / SWITZERLAND

2006
2006 – 2009 Activity Report
 Table of Contents
Preamble................................
Preamble ................................................................
................................................................................................
.........................................................................
......................................... 3

Ashoka’s Activities
Activities and Programs ................................................................
.....................................................................
..................................... 4

Identifying and Supporting Innovative Social Entrepreneurs...................... 4

The Venture Program: Selection of 25 Social Entrepreneurs in 3 Years .................4
Fellowship: Support and Networking .............................................................9
IMPACT Competition: Training in Structuring a Development Plan ......................... 16
Objectives .............................................................................................. 16
Accomplishments .................................................................................... 16
Jeun-
Jeun-ES Program .......................................................................................... 17
Objectives .............................................................................................. 17
Accomplishments .................................................................................... 18
Promoting Social Entrepreneurship .................................................................. 19
Communication Campaigns ....................................................................... 19
Social Entrepreneurship Conferences........................................................... 19
“Changing the World through Social Entrepreneurs”, a nation-wide Conference .. 20
Conference Series “Now, Let’s Talk Solutions” ............................................... 21
Series of Presentations.............................................................................. 21
La Ruche ................................................................................................... 22
Ashoka, a Key Player in the Creation of La Ruche ........................................... 22
Introduction to La Ruche and Its Function .................................................... 22

The Future of Ashoka and Its Programs................................

Programs ............................................................
............................................................23
............................23

Our Objectives, by Program ...................................................................... 23

Venture Program ..................................................................................... 23
Fellowship Program.................................................................................. 23
IMPACT Competition ................................................................................ 24
Jeun-ES Program ..................................................................................... 24
Promoting Social Entrepreneurship ............................................................. 25
Major Projects........................................................................................... 25
The Legal Form of Social Entrepreneurs ..................................................... 25
Evaluating Social Impact............................................................................ 25
New Financing Tools for Social Entrepreneurs............................................. 26
Other Works in Progress .......................................................................... 26

2
Preamble

Over the past 3 years, the main mission of Ashoka France-Belgium-Switzerland

has been to:

Identify and support innovative Social Entrepreneurs

Participate in the development and professionalization of the sector

Develop public awareness of Social Entrepreneurship

This mission is achieved through several programs:

• The Venture, Fellowship, and ASN programs

• The IMPACT Competition: social Business Plans

• The Jeun-ES program and the organization of various events for the general

public, the social economy sector and the business world

Promote roles
models, engines of Leverage each
social change others’ ideas
Ashoka provides Ashoka Build infrastructure for
them a financial & encourages the sector
professional collaborations Ashoka spreads best
support and group practises and creates
entrepreneurship bridges to the business
and academic sectors

3
ASHOKA’S ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS

Selecting and Supporting Innovative Social

Entrepreneurs

The Venture Program: Selection of 25 Social Entrepreneurs in 3 Years

Over 3 years and in 3 countries, Ashoka has selected 25 Social Entrepreneurs

working in different areas.

4
Economic Development / Professional Integration
Abdellah Aboulharjan
La Nouvelle PME (marketplace for Entrepreneurs)
France 2006

Through Young Entrepreneurs of France (JEF), Abdellah developed the desire and the
capacity to work among the youth of low-income neighborhoods. He is now working
to support the continuing development of enterprises that have already been
established. Ashoka has decided to support him in this new project.

Saïd Hammouche
Mozaik RH (Human Resources)
France 2007

Saïd has established the first recruitment firm with a specialization in diversity
whereby he is developing professional solutions for the youth of low-income
neighborhoods and transforming the practices of the HR sector.

Allaoui Guenni
Emergence
France 2008

Bringing together sports, professional integration, and social mediation in a single

place in the heart of low-income neighborhoods, Allaoui is reintegrating the
residents of these neighborhoods and opening new horizons, especially for youth.

Christine Théodoloz-
Théodoloz-Walker
IPT (Integration for All)
Switzerland Senior 2008

Christine has developed a revolutionary model that enables thousands of people

recovering from physical and/or mental health problems to find durable employment
every year. Her model is based in large part on the public and private insurance
systems in Switzerland.

Jean-
Jean-Guy Henckel
Réseau Cocagne
France, Senior, 2008

By creating a network of more than 100 organic vedgetable gardens in France that
reintegrate thousands of long-term unemployed people, Jean-Guy has transformed
the notion of employability and created a national development model for the entire
citizen sector.

5
 Gilles Reydellet
Union Nationale des PIMMS
France 2009

In order to ensure that public services are available to everybody – even the most
isolated and marginalized citizens – Gilles developed the National Union of Multi-
Service Mediation Points, which operates mostly in poor remote urban and rural
areas and offers orientation and support to the inhabitants.

Danielle Desguées
Les Boutiques de Gestion
France 2009

To invigorate the entrepreneurial fiber in each of us, Danielle has created a network
of 4,000 Management Shops that spans across all of France. It informs, supports, and
orients potential creators, especially persons who are excluded from the workforce.

Fighting Social Exclusion

Guillaume Bapst
ANDES
France 2006

By optimizing their supply, Guillaume is improving the sustainability of a network of

“solidarity groceries” and working toward a return of their clients to economic
citizenship. His newest venture allows to collect 5 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables
daily and direct them to highly vulnerable populations.

François Marty
Chênelet
France 2008

A pioneer of eco-friendly public housing, François is reinventing dignified low-income

housing in cooperation with professional integration firms in the eco-friendly
construction sector.

Jean-
Jean-Marc Borello
SOS Group
France, Senior, 2008

With an organization gathering more than 130 associations and businesses and 2500
workers, Jean-Marc is demonstrating both the usefulness and the necessity of
consolidating the citizen sector, and is key in developing this sector’s effectiveness.

6
 Didier Ketels
Droits Quotidiens
Belgium 2008

Didier is enabling the most vulnerable and excluded persons to understand their
rights and avoid legal problems by educating social workers and equipping them
with prevention and counseling resources.

Ryadh Sallem
Cap SAAA
France 2006

“Do not ask yourself what you can do for the handicapped but rather what the
handicapped can do for you!” Building on this idea, Ryadh has developed prevention
and education programs in schools and businesses.

Marc Chebsun
Respect Magazine
France 2007

Marc promotes diversity as an enrichment of our society. He is also developing

concrete tools and business partnerships to encourage diversity at all levels of
management.

Health / Social Fabric

Jean-
Jean-Michel Ricard
SIEL Bleu
Bleu Group
France 2006

Jean-Michel is helping seniors avoid dependence and exclusion through an adapted

sports program. 50,000 people currently participate every week, and the project is
developing new programs targeting other groups (e.g.: workers and persons with
disabilities).

Marie-
Marie-Noëlle Besançon
Les Invités au Festin (IAF)
France 2006

Marie-Noëlle is helping to rehabilitate persons with mental illnesses by providing

them access to alternatives to traditional medical facilities. In Besançon, her 1st
project reduces the number of hospitalizations and helps save over $1.2 million
annually.

7
 Marie-
Marie-Dominique Genoud-
Genoud-Champeaux
As’trame Foundation
Switzerland 2007

By bolstering family support networks, Marie-Dominique is helping children and their

families to rebound from dramatic events such as a death, a divorce, or the illness of
a loved one. Her project aims to reduce the medicalization of such life events.

Education / Training
Olivier Gaillard
TRANS-
TRANS-MISSION
Belgium 2007

Employing a multitude of resources, Olivier is educating youths about active

citizenship and is giving them the tools to become active citizens and build the
society of tomorrow.

Simon Houriez
Signes de Sens
France 2008

Simon is helping the deaf to experience culture and knowledge, and is creating
opportunities for them and the hearing to share common experiences, thus breaking
down prejudices and barriers between the two worlds.

Jean-
Jean-Claude Decalonne
Les Orchestres à l’école
France 2009

Exposing students in underserved schools to music, Jean-Claude is achieving a

radical transformation: children are developing discipline, self-esteem, and the
motivation to succeed.

Reza Deghati
Aina
Afghanistan Senior 2008

Reza is helping to reconstruct civil societies in countries emerging from conflicts by

developing independent and educational media outlets and helping local
populations, especially women and children, gain access to them.

8
Environnement
Roberto Epple
ERN-
ERN-AQUANET
France/Europe Senior 2007

By coordinating and encouraging cooperation among the Europe’s major River Watch
Organizations, Roberto is protecting Europe’s rivers and helping to assure the
durability of a rare resource: water.

Jérôme Deconinck
Terre de liens
France 2008

Mobilizing collective investment, Jérôme is enabling small farmers to purchase their

farms and to create organic projects with the objective of protecting responsible
agriculture with a human dimension and revitalizing rural economies.

Ignace Schops
Regionaal Landschap Kempen en Maasland (RLKM)
Belgium 2008

Ignace is channeling public and private investment into the protection of natural
spaces according to a coordinated development model and is helping make
environmental protection a major engine of economic and social development.

Pierre Rabhi
Mouvement pour la Terre et l’Humanisme
l’Humanisme
France 2009

In order to repair social and environmental equilibria while at the same time helping
feed our planet sustainably, Pierre is educating farmers in France and Africa about
eco-friendly practices. He encourages all of us to adopt lifestyles that are in harmony
with nature.

Tristan Lecomte
Pur Projet
Projet
France/International 2009

A pioneer of fair trade with Alter Eco, Tristan is opening the carbon-neural products
market. His key ideas are: support businesses/local communities in reducing their
carbon footprints and capturing carbon through fair-trade agroforestry operations.

9
Fellowship: Support and Networking

In 3 years, Ashoka has:

Developed a network of 25 Fellows (innovative Social Entrepreneurs) in France, Belgium, and

Switzerland, including 8 seniors.

Invested €1.6 million in stipends for these Fellows.

Invested nearly €500,000 in support programs for these Fellows.

Negotiated the equivalent of €2 million in services offered by our partners:

McKinsey (long-term strategic partner)
Latham & Watkins (long-term strategic partner)
Hill & Knowlton (long-term strategic partner)
Egon Zehnder (new partner)
Krauthammer (new partner)
Crossknowledge (new partner)

Attracted 50 business leaders through the Ashoka Support Network (ASN), which provides
financing, services, and networking opportunities to the Fellows.

Benefited from the time, work and competences of over 50 volunteers.

Objectives and Accomplishments

Proposing a specially designed and high-

high-quality support program for each Fellow

We adapt ourselves to the specific needs of each Fellow. According to their needs, we provide the
following services:

• a three-year stipend to ensure his/her financial stability at the head of his/her organization
• professional services with the assistance of our network of professional partners
• Individual Support Committee (CODAC), in which members of the Ashoka Support Network
(ASN) participate as volunteers
• assistance in structuring a business plan (with the Ashoka Team and external professional
volunteers)
• …

Cf. Page 12: table summarizing the services provided to each Fellow so far.

10
 Developing
Developing an Active and Dynamic Network of Fellows

Furthermore, we organize meetings among both our Fellows and other networks.

• Meetings between Fellows (France/Belgium/Switzerland) have been organized in

Besançon, by Marie-Noëlle Besançon
Strasbourg, by Jean-Michel Ricard
Lausanne, by Marie-Dominique Genoud
Paris, by Jean-Marc Borello
Calais, by François Marty
On each occasion, the objective was to give Fellows the opportunity to discuss their problems
and to share best practices.

• New European Fellows two-day meeting in Kietzbühel, Austria,

Each year in October, Ashoka convenes all the new European Fellows at the McKinsey University
in Austria. The objective is to encourage international collaborations among our Fellows.

• ASN/Fellows weekends are regularly organized to strengthen our group and encourage
collaboration among our Social Entrepreneurs and with the ASN members.

Anticipating and handling our Fellows’

Fellows’ problems,
problems, especially in evaluating
evaluating their social
impact

Social impact evaluation is a recurring topic in the citizen sector. Until now, no clear, precise, and
widely useful methodology has been developed. This carries numerous implications, however. The
decisions of donors/financers focus mainly on a project’s structure, financial transparency, and, to
a lesser extent, its management. Though in complete agreement with this approach, we also think
it is essential to append to this list criteria of effectiveness and efficiency.
efficiency

We have therefore implemented an SROI pilot project (Social Return On Investment) with the Dutch
company Social E-valuator (cf. www.socialevaluator.eu). After 3 training sessions, we have a
clearer vision of the potential and the limitations of this tool.

11
 ASHOKA PARTENAIRES ASN
Social
business Latham & Cross
Stipend Networking plan SROI Watkins McKinsey Hill & Knowlton Krauthammer Knowledge CODAC
2006
Ryadh Sallem
Marie-Noëlle Besançon
Abdellah Aboulharjan
Guillaume Bapst
Jean-Michel Ricard
2007
Roberto Epple
Marie-Dominique Genoud Champeaux
Marc Chebsun
Saïd Hammouche
Olivier Gaillard
2008
Jean-Marc Borello
Jérôme Deconinck
Reza Deghati
Allaoui Guenni
Jean-Guy Henckel
Simon Houriez
Didier Ketels
François Marty
Ignace Schops
Christine Theodoloz-Walker

Support for each Fellow

 Evaluating Ashoka’s Impact on its Fellows

Purpose of the Study

Ashoka has been selecting and supporting Social Entrepreneurs around the world for 28 years, in
France since 2006 and in Belgium and Switzerland since 2007. In order to optimize our support
and to show utmost transparency towards our stakeholders, we wished to:

• Assess
ssess the effectiveness of our activities as regards our Fellows’ development, along
predefined indicators:
- Identifying what was Ashoka’s actual contribution in terms of the development of the
Social Enterprises.
- Understanding which aspects of Ashoka’s relationship with its Fellows and support for
their projects have been satisfactory / unsatisfactory.
- Determining what the Fellows are expecting in order to maximize the impact of their
relationship with Ashoka.
• On this basis, refine, adjust, and enrich our grid/model for evaluating Ashoka’s impact on its
Fellows.
• Ensure that the
the new grid/model can be used
used in a systematic way in the future, maybe in other
countries. In pursuit of this goal, Ashoka regularly conducts an international study, “Measuring
Effectiveness”.

To implement this methodology, we asked Kevin Singer and Guillaume Cadet, co-founders of MFR
Consulting (a firm specializing in qualitative studies, recently acquired by Millward Brown) to
conduct a study on Ashoka France’s impact on its Fellows in France, Belgium, and Switzerland.

Study Results

Below are some of the results of this study, which we will use to improve our support in the future.

From Fellows’ remarks about Ashoka and their experience with this organization, the study
observed that the Fellows perceive it:

• above all, as a ‘concept’ to which they all adhere, however some of them say it took time for
them to do so.
• as a collection of benefits for them, which can be organized into 3 major areas.
Ashoka’s assistance according to our Fellows:

Booster
Maximizes the potential of the
project and its leader/manager

A principle

Community Support
Builds confidence and Provides assistance most
provides expertise and notably in areas in which the
experience Fellow lacks expertise

Focus on “The Booster Effect”:

Psychological booster:
Competence booster :

Ashoka builds confidence
• For less experienced and younger
Fellows, the selection process helps to
confirm the value, quality, and potential
of their work.
“They push you to be very ambitious, to
transform your dreams into realities "
“It gave me a coat of armor.”
“I had the impression that they believed
in the project even more than I did… it
makes a difference and builds
confidence.”
• For all, simply being ‘elected’ a Fellow
marks a change in status and bolsters
both conviction and ambition.
“In fact, they gave me a taste for
challenge that I didn’t really have.”
“Before Ashoka I was a leader and I
have become a manager.”
Ashoka provides expertise to its Fellows in two
ways :
• The Ashoka team is equipped to help its
Fellows step back, evaluate the big picture,
and understand their limits.
“The team widened my perspective.”
“They keenly saw both my strengths and my
weeknesses and their feedback on them was
quite helpful.”
• The relationships between Fellows and
ASN / partners, particularly the Codacs,
are often viewed as the most important
benefit offered by Ashoka.
“The quality of their assistance was very
impressive. "
"They are very involved and very good. "
"I feel better equipped knowing that I am
being supported by such top-notch
professionals. "

14
 Some Comments :

On belonging to the Ashoka network:

“I have always considered myself a fighter but it often seemed that I was facing
uphill battles. Since Ashoka, I feel that I am fighting more effectively.”

On the support of other Fellows:

“Initially, I was a bit skeptical about the meetings and the Fellows weekends. But I
quickly realized that others were having very similar problems and that a lot of
progress could be made by discussing them.”

“You know, all of us are unusual people and it really is a good thing to spend time
with people who understand you. That’s psychology for you!”

On the support of international Fellows:

“For example, thanks to Ashoka I learned that in India a surgeon charges different
fees according to the resources of his patients. That gave me some ideas for my fee
strategy.”

On the support of a partner:

“The people at Latham are great. They really got involved and we built a true
partnership.”

15
The IMPACT Competition: Training for Structuring
one’s Business Plan

Objectives

In Europe, the citizen sector is particularly dynamic and is undergoing important transformations.
The IMPACT Competition aimed to make social organizations more professional and structured
and to encourage greater consideration of their social impact,
impact, with three key objectives:

- Stimulating creativity with regard to mobilizing resources and forming development

strategies
- Helping organizations address strategy issues by developing a social Business Plan
- Collecting information on best practices and making it available to the entire sector

Accomplishments

The IMPACT Competition was first held in 2007-2008, and the 2d

time in 2008-2009. It was opened to all non-
non-profit social
organizations who, after operating for at least one year, wished to
evaluate their development.

The IMPACT Competition offered organizations selected to participate

training and support in drafting their Business plan. This included
seminars led by senior Social Entrepreneurs, McKinsey consultants,
and ESSEC business school professors on a wide range of topics
(strategy, pace of development, HR, business models, etc.) After the
training sessions, each organization was guided by a McKinsey
consultant throughout the five months of the competition.

Ceremony at the Salon des Entrepreneurs

The competition culminated in the Salon des Entrepreneurs, in Paris, where the winning
organization was awarded €15,000, a whole year of professional support, and a working seminar
where they would meet another organization working in the same area.

16
The IMPACT Competition highlighted the major questions an
organization should answer in order to successfully implement a
Business plan.
In order to help organizations think differently about their projects,
maximize their impact and convince new partners more easily,
Ashoka has published a handbook addressing the “7 key questions”.
questions”
(“what is your business model?”, “how do you measure your impact?”)

To support the sector’s structuration, this guide is available for

download on the web site www.concours-impact.fr.

The Jeun-
Jeun-ES Program

Ten years ago, Ashoka World launched Youth Venture, a program that targets youth
entrepreneurship, a major vehicle for change and combating apathy among future generations.
Ashoka France launched Youth Venture three years ago under the name “Jeun-ES” (Young Social
Entrepreneurs).

Objectives

The Jeun-ES Program builds on the fact that adolescence is a decisive time in the formation of
social consciousness and the acquisition of the skills necessary to become an enterprising and
responsible citizen willing to actively participate in the resolution of major social and
environmental problems. It encourages and assists all young persons between the ages of 12 and
24 to launch their own community projects in order to make important and multidimensional
social impacts.

Impact on the young person Direct impact on a social or

Discovering the joy of entrepreneurship
environmental issues
and teamwork; building responsibility, self-
esteem, and empathy The results of the project organized by the
young person

A young
person
launches a
social project
Impact on society
Impact on friends and family
A more engaged and integrated society
Serving as an example, developing whose members are better prepared to
awareness of the potential of young people take initiatives to solve social problems

17
 Accomplishments

Partnerships

First and foremost, The Jeun-ES Program is has formed a number of regional and national
partnerships with youth sector organizations in order to exchange effective practices, facilitate the
selection of youth projects, and co-organize events promoting Social Entrepreneurship by young
persons.

Awareness Campaigns on Social Entrepreneurship

Ashoka has run awareness campaigns at schools, universities, and youth events in order to invite
young people to launch their projects through universities and business schools (Ligue de
l’Enseignement, RNJA, European Forum for Youth in Action, etc.)

Supporting and Organizing Teams of Young Project Leaders

More than 20 youth projects have been supported since the launch of the program in 2007.
Supported by Ashoka and its partner organizations, some 100 young people from all regions have
developed projects addressing environmental protection, combating social exclusion and
discrimination, citizen journalism, access to culture, and international solidarity. They have
received funds to start their projects.

International Competitions

To strengthen the international dimension of the Jeun-ES Program and take advantage of the work
of its partners, Ashoka decided to further develop the Jeun-ES Program in 2008. It began to utilize
the internet tools and platforms www.changemakers.net and www.genv.net to encourage young
people to do things differently through collaborative competitions and calls for projects.
projects Through
the program, two French youth teams were named finalists in an international competition and
visited the United States to meet young project organizers from the United States and Latin
America. In spring 2009, a youth team that had developed a technological innovation for
integrating persons with disabilities won a trip to MIT, where they had the opportunity to discuss
the development of their project with leading international researchers.

18
Promoting Social Entrepreneurship
Communication Campaigns

Ashoka launched 2 poster campaigns in the Paris metro to raise awareness

among the general public. The first campaign lasted three weeks and
highlighted Ashoka’s Social Entrepreneurs. The second raised awareness of the
IMPACT Competition and Social Entrepreneurship.

Conventions on Social Entrepreneurship

Ashoka has organized two Conferences on Social Entrepreneurship.

The first one,

one held January 31st 2006 and entitled “Social Entrepreneurs and Business
Entrepreneurs:
Entrepreneurs: How to Innovate for Society”,
Society”, coincided with the launch of Ashoka France and
sought to raise awareness of this new sector, its key players, and the mission of the association.
Held at l’ Usine, the convention brought together nearly 400 people for a day of conferences on
Social Entrepreneurship, the importance of the sector, and its connections with the business world.

On April 8th 2008, Ashoka hosted a second conference,

conference this time with professional meetings aimed
at social entrepreneurs and social sector organizations. Entitled “Being an Entrepreneur and
Growing without Losing Your Soul”, these meetings offered a day to brainstorm and share tools for
development strategy and resource mobilization. They proposed roundtables, workshops and an
expert panel to help the 200 participating entrepreneurs to have a better grasp of theories and
practices with which they could further develop their projects.

19
 “Changing
“Changing the World through Social Entrepreneurs”
Entrepreneurs”

On October 9th 2008, Ashoka organized a big event to promote Social

Entrepreneurship that targeted the general public. Presenting the results of
the first study on the impact of Social Entrepreneurship in France, the event
aimed to expose the general public to the work of Social Entrepreneurs and
the solutions they have developed to solve social issues (unemployment,
social exclusions, health issues, citizenship, environmental problems, etc.).

This event included several presentations and activities: conferences, mini-

presentations by Social Entrepreneurs, a forum with key players in the
sector, interactive activities with the public (wheelchair basketball, for
example), a runway show by persons with disabilities, a Film Festival
focusing on the men and women who are changing the world, etc.

Closing with a ceremony presenting the ten Fellows Ashoka had selected in
2008, this event attracted over 900 participants to the magical Cirque
d’Hiver-Bouglione.

2008 Induction Ceremony

20
 Conference Series, “And Now, Let’s Talk Solutions”

In October 2009, Ashoka has launched “And Now, Let’s Talk Solutions”,
Solutions” a series of monthly
conferences focusing on Social Entrepreneurship. These conferences are promoting the innovative
solutions of Social Entrepreneurs that undertake to resolve major social or environmental
problems (education, unemployment, human rights, environment, health, etc.) They emphasize
discussions of solutions rather than of problems, and are building on the professional, structured,
and promising work of Ashoka’s Fellows.

Ashoka is partnering with the Reporters of Hopes

agency to organize these conferences with the
objective of highlighting the work of both
organizations in the development and propagation of
solutions. We also aim to strengthen a network of key
players in social innovation (Social Entrepreneurs,
businesses, academic organizations, financers, etc.).

The first of these conferences took place on October 5th at the Comptoir Général, a place with
strong ties to sustainable development efforts. Focusing on access to information/education for
the deaf, the conference attracted nearly 100 participants, and staged two key players: Simon
Houriez, founder of Signes de Sens and Ashoka Fellow, and Jérémie Boroy, an expert on the
subject and president of UNISDA (National Union for the Professional Integration of the Deaf).

Presentation Series

Each year, Ashoka organizes presentations in France, Belgium, and Switzerland to introduce its
work to potential corporate partners/financers
partners/financers.
/financers With two or three of its best ambassadors – its
Social Entrepreneurs – on stage, Ashoka is thus aiming to expand the Ashoka Support Network.
The presentations are organized with the assistance of ASN members and Ashoka partners, such
as UBS, in Paris, Lille, Lyon, Strasbourg, Brussels, and Geneva.

In September 2009, Ashoka also began to organize monthly breakfasts, hosted by Deloitte. Some
ten business people are invited and exposed to Ashoka’s activities.

21
La Ruche (the beehive)
Ashoka, a Key Player in the Creation of La Ruche

In response to the difficulties encountered by a number

of Fellows in finding workspaces in Paris, we began in
2007 to conceive a solution allowing to create mutual
workspaces.
workspaces As we crossed paths with Charlotte
Hochman, who wanted to duplicate in Paris an
experience, named the Hub, she had had in London, this
encounter became the starting point for La Ruche (“The
Beehive”)…

Introduction to La Ruche and its Function

Introduction

La Ruche is a collective work and creation space for innovative social entrepreneurship in Paris.
Open to any person who proposes an innovative response to a social or environmental challenge,
its vision is to reconcile economics and human development.

Its “bees” work side by side and even together. In fact, many professionals involved with social
innovation need a place where they can not only work but also meet other similarly minded
people, collaborate, receive support, and make progress as a team. Furthermore, access to
resources (technology, meeting rooms, and legal, fiscal, and financial support) is sometimes a
problem. This is why La Ruche seeks to bring together strategic players in Social Entrepreneurship
so that they can share their networks, resources and best practices.

Social Entrepreneurs based outside of Paris (in

France or abroad) who need a welcoming and
effective pied-à-terre in the French capital are
also welcome to rent a place in la Ruche on a
daily basis.

In July 2009, after more than a year since

opening, La Ruche was hosting 53 full-time
people and 9 part-timers within 22 different
organizations.

22
THE FUTURE OF ASHOKA AND ITS PROGRAMS

Our Objectives, by Program

Venture Program

Ashoka will continue to select and support innovative Social Entrepreneurs capable of bringing
about social change. In Europe, we believe that we will have reached the critical number of Fellows
necessary to have a meaningful impact in all areas in which we operate.

In France, Belgium, and Switzerland, our objective is to elect ten new Fellows each year of the
highest potential, including “Senior Fellows” – Social Entrepreneurs who have already made a
significant social impact and whose projects are already at high stages of development.

We will also continue to identify and develop a group of key persons who will nominate Social
Entrepreneurs and offer us their expertise in specific areas.

Fellowship Program

“Let’s begin by reiterating an important piece of information: as a whole, the

Fellows are very satisfied with Ashoka, its services, and its benefits:
- Ashoka has given an entirely new dimension to their projects (and even their
lives)
- The Fellowship Program’s advantages exceeded all initial expectations.”
Marie-
Excerpt from the Evaluation Report conducted by Guillaume Cadet, Kevin Singer, and Marie -
Françoise Roy.

In light of the growing number of Fellows in the network, we will need to consider new strategies
that will enable us to continue to offer each Fellow a specially designed and high-
high-quality support
while at the same time empowering and fostering the independence of the network of Fellows.

• We will capitalize upon what our Fellows believe are our unique characteristics:

- The ASN Network and the Codacs

Codacs are the keystones of our work.
work We will do everything
possible to ensure that each Fellow has an effective Codac. Each new Fellow who does not
have a business plan will be required to work with his or her Codac for six months while
drafting a business plan.

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• We will target certain areas:

- Improve our methods of invigorating the network of Fellows in order to capitalize upon and
better share effective strategies for handling recurrent problems. Furthermore, we wish to
develop national and international collaborations to facilitate the duplication of projects
and to create new innovative projects. We envision an idea exchange Unit for the Ashoka
Fellows’ social innovations.
- We must, in the future, expand our support of Senior Fellows:
Fellows
- At the international level, by taking advantage of our connections and helping our
Fellows develop high-level contacts (other Senior Fellows, public officials, etc.)
- At the local level, by helping them expand their influence within the world of social
enterpreneurship.
- We will open Ashoka’s doors more widely to our Fellows’ team members.
members. We have already
begun by making the services of Krauthammer and Crossknowledge available to our
Fellows as well as to their teams.
- We wish to expand the possibilities of personalized coaching
coaching,
hing which we began to do in
2009 with Krauthammer.
- We will expand our services in two areas: locating financing and press relations expertise.
expertise

IMPACT Competition

We are considering redesigning the IMPACT Competition in order to give priority to supporting
supporting our
network’s Social Entrepreneurs,
Entrepreneurs particularly in francophone Africa. We will thus be able to continue
helping French-speaking Fellows in three areas:
1. Strategy and development
2. Business model
3. Evaluating social impact (with Social E-valuator)

We will keep the program’s double objective:

- Support Social Entrepreneurs (Fellows)
- Produce and diffuse tools for sharing effective practices throughout the French-speaking
countries around the world.

The Jeun-
Jeun-ES Competition

Beginning in 2009, the Jeun-ES program will concentrate on education efforts and promoting
youth initiatives through an interactive and participative competition with the aim of increasing
both the interest in undertaking social and environmental initiatives and the ability of young
people to do so with the help of a network of involved youth and voluntary partners specializing in
supporting youths.

If we can support 20 to 30 teams throughout France, we hope to be able to reach out to 10,000
young people through this platform.

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 Promoting Social
Social Entrepreneurship

The evaluation of Social Entrepreneurship conducted in 2008 with AVISE and Opinion Way
demonstrated that the general public is largely unfamiliar with the sector. Ashoka’s objective is to
promote the sector in the media and through events. We are currently working on organizing an
international event that will take place in fall 2010. Until then, the series of monthly conferences
“And Now, Let’s Talk Solutions” will allow for regular meetings between the members of our
network and the general public. It is also an important vehicle for media exposure and we hope to
solidify relationships with several media partners.

Major current projects…

rojects…

The knowledge that we have developed over the course of these three years in the sector leads us
to believe that we must promote certain major structural adjustments.

The Legal Form of Social Entrepreneurs/Businesses

Entrepreneurs/Businesses

In France today a majority of Social Entrepreneurs choose to create an association under the Law
of 1901 because this is the simplest legal form available for social businesses (the other options
are cooperatives, mutual corporations, or foundations). However, this legal form presents
numerous limitations,
limitations particularly in terms of governance (a Social Entrepreneur who receives a
salary from the organization he or she has founded will always be under the supervision of an
administrative board who can remove him/her at any time), access to development capital (it is
impossible for an investor to hold a share, even though an increasing number of investors are
interested in investing in Social Entrepreneurship organizations). On the other hand, if the Social
Entrepreneur incorporates his/her project, in many cases he/she will not have access to public
financing. This difficulty can be avoided, as in the case of the SIEL Bleu Group, by creating an
affiliate business that is operated by the association, but even this does not simplify the problems
of governance.

We are currently considering the idea of a hybrid status that would solve these issues at least
partly. This project has only just begun.

Evaluating Social Impact

We will continue to study this issue in cooperation with ESSEC. Our aim is to measure in an
objective manner the social impact of the work done by our Social Entrepreneurs and to be able to
“monetize” this impact. We realize that quantification and monetization are essential intermediate
steps in building the credibility of our Social Entrepreneurs’ models. However, assessing the value
and impact of this type of work means we must reconsider
reconsider the way one normally
normally evaluates wealth
creation.
creation. We wish to move beyond the concept of SROI and contribute to the development of new
approaches for evaluating social impact.

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It is our ambition to ensure that the evaluation tools will enable Social Entrepreneurs to better
monitor their social impact and that they will enable financers (public and private) to make better
investment decisions.

New Financing Tools for Social Entrepreneurs

New financing instruments are appearing in a number of countries, a direct consequence of new
legal forms and methods of evaluating social impact that highlight the creation of wealth and thus
demonstrate that investing in this area can
can be financially and socially valuable.
valuable. In different
countries, Ashoka has been able to put such tools in place in cooperation with the banking
industry (specialized investment funds, notably) and it is therefore only natural that we envision
these types of tools being available in France. Thus in the next few months we plan to launch a
first Investment Fund targeting our Fellows.

Other Works in Progress

Developing Social Entrepreneurship on a large scale also means, in our opinion, developing the
capacity to expand our Fellows’ projects in response to the key issues of our society, present and
future. This is why we are working to propose concrete, efficient, cost-effective, and replicable
solutions to all stakeholders (the government, municipalities, businesses, etc.), building on a
precise analysis of society’s major problems and the innovations and ideas of our Fellows.

The proposals will, of course, answer specific problems in different fields (health, education,
environment, etc.), some of them will also seek to be as transversal as possible to overcome the
obstacles to the development of Social Entrepreneurship.

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La Ruche – 84 Quai de Jemmapes
75010 PARIS
Tel : 33 (0)1 48 03 92 30
Fax : 33 (0)1 48 03 92 47
france@ashoka.org