Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs

Hosted ByFergal Byrne

At Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs, we talk to experienced and successful social entrepreneurs and change makers, committed to building a better world.

Working as a social entrepreneur is hugely fulfilling – yet uniquely challenging. Social entrepreneurs need to balance business and social goals to succeed, often working in extremely challenging environments, with limited resources. And it is often a lonely journey. Our aim is to share the inspiring stories, to explore the highs and the lows, learn how different social entrepreneurs have kept inspired, and draw out insights to help social entrepreneurs at all stages on their journey.


All Episodes

Episode 49 Interview with Kathleen Colson co-founder / CEO of the BOMA Project

The BOMA Project is a U.S. nonprofit and Kenyan NGO committed to building resiliency and ending extreme poverty in the drylands of Africa by focusing on enrolling ultra-poor women in a two-year poverty graduation program. BOMA’s Rural Entrepreneur Access

Episode 48 Interview with Xavier Helgesen, Co-Founder and CEO of distributed renewable energy company Off.Grid:Electric

Xavier is the Co-Founder and CEO of Off.Grid:Electric, a distributed renewable energy company operating in Arusha, Tanzania. Off.Grid:Electric radically reduces the cost and risk of adopting solar energy for off-grid households worldwide, allowing them to

Episode 47 Interview with Pascal Finette,  Head of entrepreneurship at Singularity University

Pascal is a technology enthusiast with a wide ranging career which includes setting up a couple of technology companies, working at eBay,  Mozilla Labs, as well as a stint at Google.org investing into social impact organizations around the world. Pascal n

Episode 46 Interview with Sharath Jeevan, Founder and CEO of STIR Education

Sharath Jeevan is Founder and CEO of STIR Education, a social entreprise that is building a teacher-led movement in India and Uganda. to address the learning crisis in developing countries. STIR aims to build a movement of teachers, motivated to improve t

Episode 45 Interview with Jagdeesh Rao, Chief Executive of the Foundation for Ecological Security, India

Jagdeesh Rao is the Chief Executive of the Foundation for Ecological Security, India (FES). FES is working towards the ecological restoration and conservation of land and water resources in ecologically fragile, degraded and marginalised regions of India,

Episode 44 Interview with Kate Otto, founder and CEO of Everyday Ambassador, an organisation helping schools and organizations create lasting, positive social change.

Kate Otto is founder and CEO of Everyday Ambassador, an organisation helping schools and organizations create lasting, positive social change. She is also author of “Everyday Ambassador: Make a Difference by Connecting in a Disconnected World.” Kate is al

Episode 43 interview with Paul Polak, co-founder and CEO of Windhorse International

Paul Polak is the co-founder and CEO of Windhorse International, a for-profit social venture that designs radically affordable, life-saving or income-generating technology to serve the poorest people in the world. In 2008, Polak founded D-Rev, a non-profi

Episode 42 interview with Paul Matteucci, founder of Feeding 10 Billion

Paul Matteucci is founder of Feeding 10 Billion, a non-profit resource centre for food system entrepreneurs-its mission is to help food and agriculture entrepreneurs build sustainable companies that make an impact, create jobs and generate returns for inv

Episode 41 interview with Eric Ries, author The Lean Startup

Eric Ries is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and author known for pioneering the lean startup movement. He is the author of the 2011 New York Times bestseller, The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Success