10 Social Entrepreneurs Doing Great Things (Updated)

We’ve begun to see a greater focus on strategies for sustainable, environmentally-friendly living. A shift in traditional spending habits has emerged as more consumers demonstrate their passion for finding out where and how their products are made, who makes them, and how they affect the world we live in. In fact, a Nielson Global Sustainability Report found that 66% of customers will spend more on a product that comes from a socially-conscious company.

People want to feel as though they’re not just investing in a product – they’re giving money to a brand that actively makes a difference to the world.

As millennials continue to gain more equity in the marketplace, we’re sure to see a greater growth in the social impact sector. Indeed, 90% of millennials say they would switch brands to one that’s associated with an environmental cause. With that in mind, here are just some of the social entrepreneurs that are changing the world.

1. Raj Jana of JavaPresse

As a business model, economically-friendly companies like Java Presse are working together with small-batch farmers to support the growth of trade around the world. Every time someone purchases one of their subscription gifts, they’re contributing to an environmentally-sustainable company. This demonstrates how today’s firms are combining their desire to earn profits, with the need to protect the environment they live in.

As the founder of Java Presse, Raj Jana dreamed of a world where he could use his passion for coffee to positively impact the world we live in. With a manual coffee grinder and a vision of economic sustainability, Raj encourages coffee lovers from around the world to enjoy delicious coffee, while supporting a business that:

• Uses responsibly sourced and fresh coffee beans.
• Has donated more than $30,000 to children’s charities
• Has granted 4 wishes for the Make-a-Wish foundation.

2. Andrea Demichelis of Eliot for Water

Andrea is an Italian entrepreneur looking for his opportunity to change the world. He was born on the Western Italian Coast and moved to Paris right after he finished high school. After a few years at Paris ESLSCA Business School, Demichelis started to work as a “green broker”, investing in renewable energies.

Andrea quickly discovered that he wasn’t meant to follow the standard Wall Street path to success. Instead, he wanted to do something that changed the world, so he launched his first project “Eliot for Water”. The project is like Google, in that it helps you to find answer to your digital questions. However, the difference is that every time you search for something, the complex computer system creates new water.

3. Aubrie Canfield of Actuality Media

Aubrie Canfield started her professional life as a film-maker, but now she is the co-founder of Actuality Media – an international organization that’s designed to give storytellers the education they need to tell the stories that really matter.

Aubrie believed that the world was too full of information that couldn’t be trusted, and stories that didn’t really make a difference to the world. Unfortunately, many of the modern film-makers who could change the industry for good didn’t have the support they needed to break into the sector. “Actuality Media” seeks to solve this problem, helping global changemakers to create documentary films that reach all the right people.

4. Jacob Allen of PilotED Schools

A social justice warrior and Los Angeles native, Jacob Allen is the CEO and Co-Founder of the “PilotED” schools scheme. This is a social identity-centered school network, designed to help children living in urban environments access the opportunities they need to explore complex topics like class, gender, race, and other social issues.

The idea behind PilotED is that children with a stronger social education will be able to develop powerful civic engagement mindsets while improving their chances of academic success. Jacob believes that offering liberal arts educations to people at a younger age could help to strengthen communities around the world and support some of the world’s most vulnerable children.

5. Eric Coly of AWOKN

Another social entrepreneur trying to change the way the world works is Eric Coly. Coly started his professional life in the banking world and quickly found that finance simply didn’t give him the joy he was looking for. Finally, he decided to join the fashion industry, supported by the experiences he had built with it at an early age. Eric decided to blend his love of fashion with a passion to ensure that everyone in gets the education they need. He now features artwork by young girls in developing worlds on his fashion and contributes a quarter of the profits to their education.

Eric’s latest venture “AWOKN” contributes 50% of its profits towards supporting marginalized communities and helping women to get the education they need. The fashion Eric creates features empowering messages that highlight the brand’s mission.

6. Kathy Wong of Moeloco

With a degree in visual communications which she used to launch companies in marketing, publishing, and branding, Kathy has always been passionate about developing communities. She’s constantly looking for ways to inspire children to become change makers, and after 10 years, Kathy recently came out of retirement to become a social entrepreneur again, to make a difference to children stricken by poverty.

With her business “Moeloco”, Kathy designs and creates rubber sandals that leave positive imprints in the sand when people walk in them. For every pair of flip-flops she sells, Kathy donates a pair of shoes to a child in need so that youngsters from third-world countries can live in comfort.

7. Brian Poage of Aloha for People

Brian Poage is perhaps one of the youngest entrepreneurs on this list, at only 27 years old. He spent his childhood moving around the country before he started his career as a general contractor. After reading the book “Start something that matters” by Blake Mycoskie, Brian and his fiancé Emily Sansom decided that they wanted to do something unique to impact the world around them.

Within a few months, “Aloha for People” was born – a program that’s designed to help provide new clean water and jobs to people in need. The concept started with shirts made from fabric woven in Guatemala. For every shirt he sold, Brian provides a child in Guatemala with a 2-years supply of clean water, thanks to their partnership with a water filtration company called Ecofiltro. The brand now sells a range of clothing, as well as a line of accessories too.

8. Jess Ekstrom of Headbands of Hope

Jess Ekstrom is an example of a social entrepreneur combining a deep understanding of fashion with a love of social justice. Jess started Headbands of Hope as a junior in college in 2012. The company gives a headband to a child with cancer for every headband sold, helping to give these children confidence and joy in their time of need. The organization has been featured on Good Morning America, Vanity Fair, and the Today Show.

Jess earned the title of “Ultimate Game Changer” in Women’s Health Magazine for 2017, and she also achieved the honor of “Entrepreneur of Year” award in 2017 from Atlantic BT. Her impact on the industry continues to evolve as she gives children with cancer the beauty and happiness they’re looking for in life.

9. Claire Coder of Aunt Flow

Claire Coder is the charming and creative founder of “Aunt Flow”, a company dedicated to making sure that every woman has access to the menstrual products they need – regardless of their social or economic situation. This unique company addresses a common problem that many people prefer not to talk about – the inaccessibility of menstrual products to people in need. The social brand now stocks more than 100 schools and companies with freely-accessible products.

Aside from offering these crucial products to companies in their area, Aunt Flow has also donated more than 125,000 products to people in need throughout the USA.

10. Rafik Riad of Buy Good, Feel Good

Finally, Rafik has spent much of his life exploring the world, studying and working in diverse locations around Egypt, Germany, Canada, England, Tanzania, and more. His goal in life is to address the issues related to environmental changes, poverty, and tourism policies that face the planet we live in, particularly when it comes to developing companies.

Rafik has worked alongside a number of overseas development agencies, as well as local and central governments on concepts to do with policy creation and implementation. He believes that social enterprises can play an important role in reducing injustice in the modern world, and as such, he uses his “Buy Good, Feel Good” initiative to raise awareness of socially-driven businesses across the globe.