Investing in emergent social entrepreneurs

Yale Law School graduate Bill Drayton founded Ashoka, a global association that promotes social entrepreneurship, in 1981.

The organization has since helped over 3,000 innovative social entrepreneurs thrive in 93 countries.

Inspired by Ashoka, the Beijing-based Ginkgo Foundation has been searching for young Chinese social entrepreneurs since 2010.

"We believe there are always visionaries committed to solving pressing social issues," says Lin Hong, the secretary-general of the Ginkgo Foundation, previously known as the Ginkgo Fellow Program under the Narada Foundation.

The Narada Foundation, founded in 2007, is a private foundation approved and supervised by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Its founder, Xu Yongguang, says there should be a social sector in China built by these entrepreneurs.

However, finding those young social entrepreneurs isn't easy. To be a Ginkgo fellow, candidates need to be recommended by influential people in their respective fields and then receive a two-day-long on-site visit along with face-to-face meetings with expert judges.

"We interview around 30 candidates along with people around them each year," says Lin.

"My colleagues and I have visited almost every province."

They've recruited 98 young, talented individuals from an array of fields, including community development, healthcare, teen education, and environmental and cultural protection. Each receives a 100,000 yuan ($14,500) annual grant for consecutive three years and professional-development support.

Many are young entrepreneurs, who decide to return to their less-developed hometowns to serve the community after living in big cities.

"We're gradually finding more Ginkgo fellows fit into the returning-youth category," Lin says.

The money they receive significantly eases their financial pressures.

"I don't have to worry too much about my livelihood," says Ma Junhe.

Ginkgo supports his desert-reclamation project in his hometown, Gansu province's Minqin county.

"That helps me focus on finding viable solutions to curb desertification."

Ginkgo also offers career development and networking opportunities to inspire and challenge.

"The network consists of social entrepreneurs nationwide and generates invaluable learning experiences that are especially useful for personal growth," says Beijing Normal University graduate Lin Lusheng.

As a fellow, Lin Lusheng enjoys opportunities to visit different countries and regions to learn about social enterprises.

He learned how traditional architecture is being preserved while visiting Taiwan, which strengthened his resolve to renovate the traditional buildings in his hometown in Fujian province.

"I'm inspired by what I've seen," he says.

"Of course, I feel more confident about what I'm going to pursue."

The foundation last month launched a fundraising campaign called: "I want to attend school".

It posted photo stories of children of marginal groups who want educations in Beijing subway lines.

The initiative has already generated over 1.2 million yuan.

The organization plans to launch a new campaign - "returning home" - which features young people returning to their hometowns in the next few months.

"(This) has become a more important issue that we're paying more attention to," Lin Hong says.

For young returnees, such organizations as the Liang Shuming Rural Reconstruction Center, Serve for China, Nurture Land and the P2P-lending website Yinongdai.com offer helpful platforms.

Commitment also matters.

"If you're willing to make the effort and keep doing quality work, you're more likely to seize opportunities and achieve success," Southwest Forestry University graduate Yao Huifeng says.