The partnership offers a comprehensive suite of initiatives designed to foster health agency, youth activation, and leadership development. These programs include mentorship opportunities, online courses, and events aimed at empowering individuals and communities to drive positive change in the health sector.
Through tailored mentorship, participants receive guidance to enhance their impact, while online courses provide accessible training on critical health topics. Additionally, events focused on youth activation and leadership development cultivate the next generation of health innovators, ensuring a sustainable and inclusive approach to global health challenges.
Social Innovation Hubs
Social Innovation Hubs (SIH) is a Making More Health program designed in collaboration with Ashoka, to foster cross-sector collaboration, drive social innovation and create regional impact. The aim is to connect innovative social entrepreneurs with local Boehringer teams, to work together towards creating more equitable health solutions for both humans and animals.
Over the course of a year, participants receive structured support and expert guidance to develop and refine strategies that tackle the root causes of healthcare challenges within their communities. Additionally, they receive support in the planning and implementation of these strategies to help achieve long-lasting impact.
It was challenging because the problem itself is large. The Program's process helped to focus our attention on a solution that had the potential for a broad impact while still being realistic and achievable.
Nalinika Obeyesekere
Ashoka Fellow. SIH's co-case giver | VetPet, works with Boehringer ROPU ASKAN, Sri Lanka
Defining the root cause and how to tackle it through a systemic approach has been extremely valuable.
Guillaume Lefebvre
Social Entrepreneur, SIH's case giver, Siel Blue | Spain
The structure of the program and the rich methodology are highly valuable [...]. The facilitators guidance and homework help to bring the theory into practice. In addition to helping SoyDoy, I am seeing how I'm able to apply it to my Boehringer work to strengthen it…
Felipe de Jesús López Fraga
SIH's Thought Partner for Ashoka Fellow organization "SoyDoy" | Boehringer Ingelheim Mexico
Localized Models
Implemented on a global scale, the Ashoka and Boehringer Ingelheim partnership is designed to adapt to diverse socio-economic contexts. It combines a common global framework with ample flexibility for incorporating new ideas and testing local projects. This approach has enabled the collaboration to remain aligned with its core purpose while successfully adapting to different regions and conditions.
It has also fostered connections and interactions between local Ashoka and Boehringer Ingelheim offices, leading to the implementation of shared projects that leverage regional priorities and challenges across different geographies, while deepening engagement with local Ashoka Fellows.
The collaboration with Ashoka, focused on encouraging the participation of our young people in health, was an inspiring project that allowed us to look beyond our day-to-day work and challenged us to enter a different world full of opportunities.
Natalia García Rex
Patient Safety Lead, Boehringer Ingelheim (Chile)
Executive in Residence
Executive in Residence is an individually tailored leadership development opportunity where Fellows from the Making More Health network welcome Boehringer Ingelheim executives in intensive two-week to six-month placements. The program fosters high-impact collaborations between Boehringer Ingelheim leaders and social entrepreneurs with the potential to change the dynamics of traditional markets, enhance competitiveness, and create systemic social impact.
Check out our latest article on Executives in Residence, in which employees at Boehringer Ingelheim reflect on their experiences stepping into the shoes of world leading social entrepreneurs!
I fell in love with the Ashoka Fellow organization I collaborated with, because of the power of purpose. It proves that when people are truly challenged by something meaningful, magic can happen. I’ve seen it not just in the organization, but in my private life as well.
Giorgio Gatti
Director of IT Data Insights & Advanced Modeling, Boehringer Ingelheim. Participant in the 2023 Executive in Residence Program.
This experience has made me more empathetic and taught me to be more patient. As well as finding my listening skills have improved, I also look at body language more because it says a lot. [...] The power of collaboration was also something I experienced and have integrated into the way I work,…
Ana Escobar Maravilla
Head of Quality Medicine Mexico & CAmCar, Boehringer Ingelheim. Participant in the 2023 Executive in Residence Program.
Ana gave us so many insights and such encouragement. She certainly gave us more than she took. She has helped us understand how we can scale up our work in other countries, and we are so grateful that we now have our mission explained in Spanish too thanks to her, we were blown away by that!.
Markus Raivio
Ashoka Fellow, founder of NGO “Kukunori”. Participant in the 2023 Executive in Residence Program.
Online Course: Social Intrapreneurship for Innovation in Health
This six-week online course gathers business professionals and social innovators in health to discuss health innovations and their deployment. Social intrapreneurship is a methodology for cultivating and advancing social innovation within institutions by deploying agile and start-up strategies, encouraging a culture of changemaking and building essential skills such as leadership, empathy or teamwork.
My journey has been nothing short of transformative and enlightening. It has fueled my passion for social impact, and I'm committed to making a positive difference in animal health, communities, and the environment. I'll integrate the principles learned in my daily work [...].
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Emily Isoe
Boehringer Ingelheim, Kenya. Participant in the 2024 Social Intrapreneurship for Innovation in Health course.
I have learned and been challenged by the course. Modules have been very insightful, especially for us who are social intrapreneurs. I have realized that most of the time we worked on symptoms rather than the real issues. The mindset of shifting the way systems operate is what I'm carrying with…
Marylynn Mutenyo
Rays of Care Kenya, Kenya. Participant in the 2024 Social Intrapreneurship for Innovation in Health course.
Fellowship Initiative for Ashoka Fellows working in Health
The Fellowship Initiative is a global effort to engage, support, and amplify the work of over 150 Ashoka Fellows in the health sector. It focuses on three key areas:
Community Engagement
Fellows are invited into a global online community, with regular live sessions for peer learning, case study deep dives, and knowledge exchange. Fellows are also connected to Ashoka’s broader learning opportunities, such as Making More Health, Ashoka One Community, and other relevant programs.
Knowledge Creation
The initiative curates and co-creates content that captures insights from leading social entrepreneurs in health, enhancing the visibility and accessibility of their solutions. This includes knowledge products shaped in collaboration with health-focused partners.
Cross-Sector Collaboration & Partnerships
Through partnerships with investors, researchers, and other thought leaders, the initiative aims to co-design new, evidence-based models that reflect the innovation of social entrepreneurs. It also strengthens collaboration across Ashoka’s regional and program teams.
Social Innovation Hubs (SIH) is a Making More Health program designed in collaboration with Ashoka, to foster cross-sector collaboration, drive social innovation and create regional impact. The aim is to connect innovative social entrepreneurs with local Boehringer teams, to work together towards creating more equitable health solutions for both humans and animals.
Over the course of a year, participants receive structured support and expert guidance to develop and refine strategies that tackle the root causes of healthcare challenges within their communities. Additionally, they receive support in the planning and implementation of these strategies to help achieve long-lasting impact.