New Delhi, Mar 24 (KNN)  Two Indians figure among the 37 social entrepreneurs recognised by the Schwab Foundation as the Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2014.  The winners were selected in recognition of their innovative approaches and potential for global impact.
 
Shelly Batra of Operation ASHA and Chetna Vijay Sinha of Mann Deshi Bank and Mann Deshi Foundation are among the 37 outstanding entrepreneurs working in health, education, employment and environment.
 
The awardees will be announced during a livecast session at The Huffington Post, featuring Hilde Schwab, Co-Founder and Chairperson, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in New York today.
 
Commenting on the winners, “Social entrepreneurs are the driving force behind innovations that improve the quality of life of individuals around the world, and they represent an integral and dynamic community of the World Economic Forum,” Hilde Schwab said.
 
“It therefore gives me great pleasure to announce the 2014 Schwab Social Entrepreneur awardees. The 37 outstanding social entrepreneurs we have selected into the Schwab Foundation community this year are designing transformative models in collaboration with government and business partners to generate truly inclusive growth,” she added.
 
On the other hand, Senior Director, World Economic Forum and Head, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, David Aikman said that a growing number of corporations see income inequality and environmental problems like climate change as fundamental threats to their long-term growth.
 
“Many governments are starting to rethink the way they deliver goods and services that improve social outcomes. We are seeing greater appetite among other stakeholder groups of the Forum to learn from social innovation models and collaborate with social entrepreneurs in innovative ways. I am confident this trend will only continue to grow in the future, and the World Economic Forum is proud to be at the forefront of catalysing partnerships among these stakeholder groups for social and environmental change,” he said.
 
The awardees will become part of the broader Schwab Foundation community of Social Entrepreneurs, which includes 250 outstanding social entrepreneurs from 60 countries.
 
Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs are fully integrated into the events and initiatives of the World Economic Forum. They contribute actively to and benefit from peer-to-peer exchanges with other social entrepreneurs as well as interactions with top leaders in business, government, civil society and the media.  (KNN/ES)