What is an Ashoka Fellow?

What is an Ashoka Fellow?

Ashoka Fellows are social entrepreneurs with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. They are creative, ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for improving human wellbeing in all areas--health, rights, education, and many others. Just as entrepreneurs frequently innovate for the business sector, social entrepreneurs do so for the benefit of society. They are role models who seize opportunities and inspire others to take action.

Selection criteria 

What characterizes a leading social entrepreneur? How does Ashoka decide which candidates to nominate and which to turn away? Ashoka's selection process is anchored by our five criteria against which all Fellow candidates are evaluated:

To read more about our selection criteria, click here. To find out more about how we elect Ashoka Fellows, please read more on our Search & Selection Process.