How 510 Social Entrepreneurs and Innovators have improved the lives of 950 million people worldwide

Amid a year of profound disruption and geopolitical shifts, social entrepreneurs and innovators have reimagined their models and pivoted to new opportunities to remain both viable and impactful. Their collective response reveals a sector in transition – one that is redefining sustainability through collaboration, adaptability and a renewed commitment to making society a better place for all on a liveable planet.

Over nearly three decades, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, in partnership with the World Economic Forum, has built a global community of pioneering social innovators driving systemic change. By fostering a diverse, trust-based community, raising awareness of social innovation models, facilitating collaboration and partnerships, and providing capacity-building resources and learning opportunities, the Schwab Foundation contributes to advancing social entrepreneurship and innovation worldwide.

Today, the Foundation’s community includes 510 active social innovators from 439 organizations operating in 190 countries. Collectively, they have directly improved the lives of over 950 million people worldwide since founding their organizations and mobilized more than $1 billion in resources over just the past year to transform healthcare, education, climate action and economic inclusion.

Social innovators are developing structured systems of collaboration with shared governance and measurement mechanisms to catalyse change. The Schwab Foundation’s Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship now connects more than 130 member organizations representing over 100,000 social enterprises. At the same time, the Corporate Leadership Council and the Policy Leadership Council bring together more than 50 companies, 30 policymakers, and multilateral partners to advance social innovation globally. In the first year of reporting, these members contributed over $270 million in support of social innovation. Of the companies, 28 have also signed the Rise Ahead Pledge to enhance the social economy by 2030.

Over the past year, social innovators faced significant headwinds — from donor funding cuts, withdrawal of development aid, and misaligned incentives to ongoing cash-flow constraints. 82% reported being affected by shrinking financial and in-kind resources. In response, they evolved beyond single-source donor dependence toward blended, mission-centred finance, combining for-profit and non-profit objectives, fee-for-service models and outcome-based partnerships. Despite these challenges, many reported progress through diversification, technology implementation, expansion, and adoption of practices that ensure long-term resilience.

Every year, the Schwab Foundation Awards recognize outstanding social innovators transforming systems across sectors and regions in the following categories:

Announced in the lead-up to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos, Switzerland, the 2026 awardees span impact areas such as emergency medical services, circular textiles, wildlife conservation, menstrual health, education and civic participation. Together, they embody the belief and the proof that our economies and societies can serve people, planet and progress. This diverse cohort of outstanding social innovators joins a three-year development journey with the Foundation. The programme allows them to grow themselves and their organizations before becoming lifelong community members, gaining continued support and access to opportunities through the network.

The findings of the 2026 awardees and impact report, Built to Last: Social Innovation in Transition, reflect a community navigating disruption with determination by realigning strategies, strengthening local ecosystems and evolving operating models to continue delivering impact amid uncertainty. Looking forward, social innovators are entering a new phase of maturity. It will require deeper collaboration, leadership renewal, and stronger alignment between policy and investment to ensure social innovation moves from the margins to the mainstream.

The Schwab Foundation will continue to champion this movement, supporting innovators and ecosystem partners in building the foundations of a more resilient, more human, and regenerative future shared by all.