Unusual Pioneers is a platform for corporate leaders and social intrapreneurs turning business into a force for good. Established by Yunus Social Business, The World Economic Forum’s sister organisation, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, and Porticus – this program accelerates the work of social intrapreneurs through mentoring, peer-to-peer support, and involvement of executives across industries.
We launched the platform last week with a stellar panel, featuring
- Aaron Hurst, Founder of Taproot Foundation and Imperative and Author of “The Purpose Economy”
- Åsa Skogström Feldt, Manager, IKEA Social Entrepreneurship BV
- Corinne Bazina, General Manager of Danone Communities
- Jayanth Bhuvaraghan, former-Chief Mission Officer for Essilor Luxottica and Essilor International. Senior Advisor & Coach, Essilor Luxoticca.
2020 has shown us there can be no more business as usual. We need businesses to move away from the sole focus on shareholders to include all stakeholders. "The pandemic represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset our world" - Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum. This is where the Unusual Pioneers step in: Intrapreneurial employees using the force of their corporate powerhouses to solve tangible social and environmental problems. The Business As Unusual event showcases corporate social intrapreneurs and executives who are working on transforming corporations for the better.
Find out more on the Unusual Pioneers website.

Check out our new video telling the stories of rural farmers! They provide higher incomes and safe jobs for rural farmers in Colombia. They work in areas affected by armed conflict growing baby vegetables and edible flowers. 🌱 🌿 🥕🌷 🌹

Since the 1980s, pioneers like Bill Drayton, Muhammad Yunus and Anita Roddick have led through action, creating powerful examples of business solutions to societal or environmental issues. They called it social business, social entrepreneurship or impact entrepreneurship.

This Christmas, it’s more important than ever to support social businesses. At a time when it may feel easier to shop online at the major online retailer ‘who shall not be named’, why not take a bit of time to find a social business which benefits a local community?