Geneva - Yasmina Filali, president of Foundation Orient Occident (Morocco), was recognized on Thursday as the Social Entrepreneur of 2016 along with 10 other awardees by.
Foundation Orient Occident provides job training to underprivileged Moroccans, sub-Saharan migrants and refugees. It also helps migrants and refugees to integrate into Moroccan society. Ninety-five per cent of graduates from the IT courses and 60% of hospitality graduates find regular employment.
Social Entrepreneurs are active where traditional markets have failed, and apply the latest business thinking in a practical and sustainable way to benefit the marginalized and poor. They are closing gaps in products and services that would otherwise not be filled for these underserviced communities.
"Their success rests upon combining the financial disciplines of market capitalism with the passion and compassion required to create a more fair and just world," said Hilde Schwab, Co-Founder and Chairwoman of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.
"This year’s awardees are experimenting with business models and new distribution and replication methods, and holding themselves accountable for results. They are changing society for the better in the process," she added.
The winners were selected by the board of the Schwab Foundation in recognition of their innovative approaches and potential for global impact.
The 2016 awardees are particularly active in providing access to the internet and various low-tech solutions to help underprivileged communities to participate in the fundamental changes of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Several awardees are using new technologies in marginalised and poor communities to provide jobs, skills training and education in innovative new ways.
The awardees will become part of the broader Schwab Foundation community of Social Entrepreneurs, which includes over 320 outstanding social entrepreneurs from 70 countries. Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs are fully integrated into the events and initiatives of the World Economic Forum. They contribute to and benefit from peer-to-peer exchanges with other social entrepreneurs as well as interactions with leaders in business, government, civil society and the media.
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