Harnessing the collective power of social innovators

Hilde Schwab: Many people didn't know what was social entrepreneurship at that time. Klaus and I started the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in the late 90s because I thought it was important to give them a platform, to include them in the works of the World Economic Forum, give them a platform and give them recognition.

Pavitra Raja: Welcome to Let's Fix It, the podcast from the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and the World Economic Forum that speaks to leading social innovators and finds out how they're fixing some of the world's biggest problems. In this episode, we speak to the very first employee of the World Economic Forum, and the visionary leader who co-founded the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Mrs Hilde Schwab.

The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is a community of 400 leading social innovators making the world a more sustainable, equitable and inclusive space. They are impacting the lives of over 722 million people in 190 countries.

Hilde Schwab: We have come a long way now. It was hard from the beginning. It was not obvious. But I think it will continue like this, and that's really my greatest joy.

Pavitra Raja: Subscribe to Let's Fix It on Apple, Spotify, SoundCloud or wherever you get your podcasts and make sure to like, rate and review us. I'm Pavitra Raja at the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. Join me and learn how some of the world's very bright minds are quite literally fixing it.

Welcome to a very special episode of Let's Fix It, where we delve into our origin story with the one and only Hilde Schwab. Hilde Schwab is a serial social entrepreneur herself, having co-founded two global entities. She is a huge inspiration to all who know her and has been creating spaces for social entrepreneurs, artists and activists in global arenas for over 50 years.

Hilde Schwab: My name is Hilde Schwab. I am the co-founder and chairperson of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and also co-founder and chairperson of the World Arts Forum.

Both are sister organizations of the World Economic Forum. When I joined the World Economic Forum, it was before it even existed. So my husband, Klaus Schwab, had this idea. He had written a book about stakeholder capitalism, which means that corporations are responsible not only for shareholders, but also for stakeholders, and the stakeholders are the wider community.

At that time they were talking about employees, about clients, but also environment and the society at large. Following that, he wanted to create a platform for all these stakeholders to meet and to discuss problems and find solutions.

He had defined Davos as an ideal place, because it was a little bit outside of all the big hustle of great cities. But then he was looking for somebody who could organize this event, and that was me. So that's how I joined his idea, at that time. It was in 1970.

Pavitra Raja: Maybe could you share with us one of the stories? So you were the first employee. I'm sure there are lots of stories from the starting days of the Forum.

Hilde Schwab: The time was very different because we had no mobile phones; we had not even fax machines. It was a very different time. Klaus and I, we did everything ourselves. I mean, when we sent out the invitations, that was a registration card put in an envelope. We had to stick a stamp on it, bring everything to the post office.

This was really different. Then the first meeting was self-financed. For us, it was a very difficult period because we didn't know if the idea would fly. So every time we got one of those cards back, we looked at it and said, 'Oh, okay, another one, another one.'

And at the end, the first meeting took place in January in 1971, and we had 444 participants – only business people and mostly European. Of course, the Forum developed itself and we included people from government, from civil society, academia.

The Forum developed itself in the last 50 years. In the course of this development also we added not only business and government, but also artists. I was always interested in arts and in culture, because I thought that they bring another dimension to the discussions. They touch our hearts and our souls and are really important to see the problems from a different angle.

Pavitra Raja: You wear so many hats. You are the chairperson and Co-founder of the Schwab Foundation. You wear the hat of being the Chairperson and Co-founder of the World Arts Forum. You were the first employee of the World Economic Forum. That's quite a lot of things on your plate. But how do you balance all of that in your life?

Hilde Schwab: I think it's a whole; I don't see it as us different activities in different sectors. I think everything gets together and we need to have a holistic view of our work and that's what I am having. Everything goes together. This is our whole life. It's politics, it's economics, it's arts, it's social entrepreneurship.

Pavitra Raja: Let's shift gears a little bit and talk about the Schwab Foundation. And I know that, along with artists, social entrepreneurs have always been very close to your heart as well. Could you tell us a little bit about why a social entrepreneur is so close to your heart?

Hilde Schwab: I always thought that we should do something for the people who are working on the ground. I saw, and heard, and read about very great efforts which are done to reduce poverty, to bring clean water to the villages, to send girls to schools. They matter so much.

And my first awakening, so to speak, was when I heard about Muhammad Yunus wanting microcredit. And I thought there must be many more people, hundreds around the world, who like him create a big movement. We just need to find them.

So that's how Klaus and I started the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. That's how we set out to find these people in the late 90s, because I thought it was important to give them a platform, to include them in the works of the World Economic Forum with all the business people, the politicians, the academia – give them recognition because many people didn't know what was social entrepreneurship at that time.

Pavitra Raja: Is it true that the early cohort of the Schwab Foundation or the first when you kind of identified the top 10 you could on your radar, that initially you were supposed to give a cash prize to them and then they decided that's not something that they want. Is that story true?

Hilde Schwab: That story is true, absolutely. The first meeting of social entrepreneurs was in New York – the first and unique time it didn't happen in Davos. That was because after 9/11, we wanted to give support to the city of New York.

And there were 40 social entrepreneurs at that time invited to New York. And I remember vividly we sat somewhere in a dark place, the people then they came out and said, 'We don't want your cash prize, but I think it would be much better if you created a network so that we could stay connected to each another.'

Because this was already global, people came from all over the world. They wanted to keep this network and be able to work together from that moment on. That's the origin of the network of the Schwab Foundation Fellows.

Pavitra Raja: That's incredible. How do you think and how does the Foundation, apart from giving the network, continue to support this community as well?

Hilde Schwab: It is a very lonely, lonely affair to be a social entrepreneur, because you have to fight constantly. There are so many difficulties that you see and you want to improve, of course, the life of the people, and it's very hard to do that.

As the Schwab Foundation, we can make important connections also, not just the network among themselves, which is critically important because we have seen collaboration over continents now. People who are working all over, and so this is really something that is fantastic but also make connections, for instance, with the partners of the World Economic Forum, with partners of the Schwab Foundation who can help to advance their organization. So this is very critical.

Pavitra Raja: And what's amazing is that cross-sectoral partnerships as well, it's like someone's working in health and someone is working in education and they find partnerships, which is fascinating.

We were in Davos in 2020 and someone who is working in blockchain found partnership with someone working in football and creating equality through sport. So it's incredible cross partnerships. So I guess that ethos of being a social entrepreneur, which is to serve in the community, that remains.

Hilde Schwab: It's absolutely critical because everything is interlinked. If you think of health problems, they are also problems in education, poverty. Everything touches on something else. And so that's why this network is so important.

Pavitra Raja: And also this kind of leads to the point that the Schwab Foundation really focuses on systems change, of systems level social innovators. So really someone looking at the core of the problem rather than just the problem, which is what makes this community even more special, is doing that, in particular, is quite a difficult and challenging experience.

Hilde Schwab: Yes. No, but I think most of the social entrepreneurs, they have embraced the systems change because they know even better than us. I mean, they know what's what it's all about. I'm very happy to see that happening.

Pavitra Raja: That was Hilde Schwab. Now, Matt Damon, Shakira, Shah Rukh Khan – what do these global superstars have in common? Well, they're all creating impact through the World Economic Forum. Hilde Schwab create spaces for artists and cultural leaders to work with the Forbes business community to shape a better world. Stay tuned to find out how.

Linda Lucina: I'm Linda Lucina, host of Meet the Leader, the flagship leadership podcast from the World Economic Forum, where top leaders from business, government and more share how they're tackling the world's biggest challenges. Leaders like activist Jane Goodall.

Jane Goodall: You've got to reach the heart. It's no good arguing with the head.

Linda Lucina: Leadership expert John Amaechi.

John Amaechi: You can find your inner giant no matter what.

Linda Lucina: Or leaders like former Vice President Al Gore.

Al Gore: We have to be willing to make bold moves.

Linda Lucina: Or even CEOs like Verizon's Hans Vestberg.

Hans Vestberg: If we want to lead other people, you need to start with yourself.

Linda Lucina: Only from the World Economic Forum, this is Meet the Leader.

Pavitra Raja: Welcome back to Let's Fix It, the podcast from the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship at the World Economic Forum. In this episode of Let's Fix It, we're hearing from the one and only Hilde Schwab, Co-founder and Chairperson of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. Have you ever wondered what drives social change leaders to continue pushing themselves to improve the state of the world? Well, find out in a minute.

What was interesting about the Foundation over the last 20 years is, yes, there's this incredible community of social entrepreneurs, but in 2019, you decided to open the remit and also award intrapreneurs in public sector, in private sector, thought leaders in the social innovation ecosystem. So we kind of zoomed out of entrepreneurship to innovation, to social innovation. What caused that shift?

Hilde Schwab: Social entrepreneurship is described as not just an activity, but it stands for a mindset. So with this mindset, we can see is now penetrating also business and governments as well as the educational system.

We have courses at countless universities about social entrepreneurship, which demonstrate that this mindset is generalized. People in businesses and governments are recognizing that we need the social improvement in the world in general, which is really critical. It's not just the social entrepreneurs who have realized that. So in the last 20 years, this mindset really has changed, which is very positive.

Pavitra Raja: So a little bit about the intrapreneurship journey. So governments and businesses have recognized this and there's obviously change brewing in this and you recognize this mindset shift. Is that the reason to start bringing them into the community, because you realize this is what kind of makes them all kind of similar, entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs? Was that the reason to give them a network as well?

Hilde Schwab: Not really. The reason was to foster intrapreneurship inside corporations and inside governments and even in universities and so on. But we see this happening, which is really great. And the connectivity that is made now between the social entrepreneurs and the intrapreneurs is really wonderful to see.

Pavitra Raja: Let's remember when we had the first Davos, we were a bit nervous. We were like, 'Are they going to get along? Are they not?' It was, as you said, it was a mindset that they are all geared to a service. They're geared towards creating some kind of social change, or environmental change. And they just came together like they were long lost brothers and sisters.

Hilde Schwab: That's exactly how we felt. And I think also it's very important because both sides can profit from it.

Pavitra Raja: Yeah. And one of the things that the Forum talks about, the Forum is committed towards a better world through partnerships, public-private partnerships and bringing that within the social entrepreneurship sector. Social entrepreneurs often struggle to create business and government partnerships.

Hilde Schwab: Exactly, and also what I'm thinking now about the future is that the present situation. Governments are loaded with debt and they see that they need the private sector. Private sector in this case is social entrepreneurs; their support is needed to advance social welfare in general.

Pavitra Raja: We did an impact study as well of the intrapreneurs in the last three years. We found that the intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs, only the last three years from 2019 to 2022, have reached 100 million people around the world. It's incredible. So the impact is significant.

Let me talk to you a little bit about your moments with the Schwab Foundation. In the last 20-ish years, the Foundation remains as one of the key pillars in the social innovation ecosystem. What are some of your proudest moments at the Foundation?

Hilde Schwab: The celebration of the 20 years of the Schwab Foundation, of course, that was really a landmark. And this independent impact report showed that we had positively touched the lives of over 700 million people in 190 countries. And this is quite an achievement. I know it's a staggering figure, but the social entrepreneurs, it's their doing, so it's really absolutely wonderful.

Pavitra Raja: And, Mrs Schwab, you talked a little bit about something that excites you about the future, one being that we're launching a new award category. What excites you about that?

Hilde Schwab: So the new award category is the Collective Social Innovation Award that we will launch in Davos. And it means that a number, maybe two, four, social entrepreneur organizations are working together on one specific problem, and this is very exciting to see. Now we are in the process of searching these organizations and awarding them. We have just been helping a little bit on the side.

Pavitra Raja: You had the vision to create a network for people who really needed one. It's quite a beautiful community.

Hilde Schwab: It's wonderful, like a family. This is true. Yeah. You know, what is truly special about this community is really the relationships and the friendships, but also the collaboration for scaling up the impact. So it's all three that goes together.

Pavitra Raja: What's something that excites you about the future of the Foundation?

Hilde Schwab: I'm still and I will be excited about the impact that for me and you can have about the collaboration between all the stakeholders. I think this is the most important thing, to see the impact and we have come a long way now. It was hard from the beginning. It was not obvious. But I think it will continue like this and that's really my greatest joy.

Pavitra Raja: You've been in this ecosystem for a while. You have I think to some extent, been a social entrepreneur yourself, starting the World Economic Forum almost sounds like an social entrepreneurship journey.

Hilde Schwab: It was. It was a social entrepreneurship journey. Absolutely.

Pavitra Raja: With its strives and successes. Yeah. So tell me a little bit, Mrs Schwab, what advice would you share for people wanting to become a social entrepreneur or a social innovator?

Hilde Schwab: I think it comes down to defining what you want in your life. Where do you want to be? What do you want to achieve? Do you want to be part of social change? So if you have a new idea, create a social enterprise, or else you can join a social enterprise. There are so many who are just waiting for people, you know, who will come and help.

Pavitra Raja: Social entrepreneurs, as you said, they've impacted 722 million people in over 190 countries, but the work hasn't stopped. There's still a lot to do. And the social change sector is changing as well, and it's rapidly changing. What's one change that you hope to see in this in this ecosystem?

Hilde Schwab: Well there's a lot of work being done by the social entrepreneurs, but also by other stakeholders of society, because they have understood now what it needs to make the world a better place. I just wish more understanding of the social sector and that is becoming mainstream. And you can see it already now.

And you know, the young generation, if you ask them, do you think you are a social entrepreneur? I mean, 80% in a big group would answer yes. So maybe the definitions might vary a little bit, but I think people have understood that your life is not only about money, about, you know, about success, I mean, financial success, but it is also about being there for others and helping to improve the state of the world.

Pavitra Raja: Yeah. And it's possible to balance the two.

Hilde Schwab: Absolutely.

Pavitra Raja: Yeah. A lot of the social entrepreneurs who we've interviewed and social innovators we've interviewed, most of them said it's possible to be for profit and for purpose.

Hilde Schwab: Absolutely.

Pavitra Raja: And we see that in the community all the time. And I think there's this strange notion that, 'Oh, if you're for profit, then you can't be for social change. And if you're for social change, you can't be for profit.' And the stakeholder capitalism model just kind of dismantles that almost ridiculous thinking that it's possible to balance everything in your...

Hilde Schwab: Yeah, but because it still says capitalism. Yeah, that's what it is. Of course, maybe the term is a little bit tricky. You probably have to be both. Yeah, you have to be both in order to advance social issues.

Pavitra Raja: What is a piece of advice that you would share with your younger self?

Hilde Schwab: Ooh, my younger self. When I was younger I was very shy and I wasn't bold enough. So this is something I would advise myself if I could back up. But there's not a regret, no regret.

Pavitra Raja: That was Hilde Schwab, Co-founder and Chairperson of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and also the Co-founder and Chairperson of the World Arts Forum.

Want to hear more ways social innovators are fixing it? Then check out our website Schwabfound.org. Please subscribe to Let's Fix It wherever you get your podcasts and please do leave us a rating or a review.

This episode of Let's Fix It was presented by me, Pavitra Raja, and produced by Alex Court with thanks to Amy Kirby and Jere Johansson for editing and Tom Burchell for sound design.

Special thanks to our partners, Motsepe Foundation, and thanks also to our executive producers Georg Schmitt, Robin Pomeroy and Francois Bonnici. Thanks for listening and stay tuned for more inspiring stories.