Ashoka's Social Financial Services (SFS) group improves access to financing and sustainable capital in the citizen sector.

As the world changes ever more quickly, society needs more changemakers with the ability and tools, including access to capital, to tackle growing social challenges. Through our core initiatives, SFS addresses the lack of quantity and diversity of financial support needed for social ventures to succeed:

Social Investment Entrepreneur Initiative

The Social Investment Entrepreneur (SIE) Initiative identifies, invests in and supports leading social entrepreneurs who are pursuing innovative approaches to access new sources of capital and use market dynamics to create social impact. Elected as Ashoka Social Investment Entrepreneur (SIE) Fellows, these leading social entrepreneurs join Ashoka's global network of top social and business entrepreneurs, enjoy strategic support and opportunities to collaborate, and often receive stipends.

Examples of Ashoka SIE Fellows

• SIE Fellow Charles Best is enabling ordinary citizens to give to a classroom project through an innovative online platform.
• SIE Fellow Atsumasa Tochisako is making financial services for transnational families more affordable and widely accessible using his ARIAS software tool and cross-sectoral partnerships.

Having elected 42 SIE Fellows, Ashoka aims to elect 100 SIE Fellows in three years. Learning from their cutting-edge models, Ashoka will expand knowledge about social investment innovations and collaborate with leading financial institutions to change the pattern in social finance.