Rohini Nilekani Quotes

Today, 30-year-olds are becoming social entrepreneurs.

By simply capitalizing on core strengths and knowledge, companies and entrepreneurs can engage in an emerging business model that will enable them to create - and demonstrate - real, sustainable social impact in society.

The social entrepreneurs are governments' best friends.

Philanthropy is involved with basic innovations that transform society, not simply maintaining the status quo or filling basic social needs that were formerly the province of the public sector.

No one doubts the enormity of the social challenges we face around the world but one critical element of our response must be the generation of new thinking and ideas. Yet creating the conditions that make this possible is not simple.

The one thing you learn from looking at places like Afghanistan is that the power of business to do good is enormous.

A social entrepreneur finds market-based solutions for change. Because without a market-based solution, without a sustainable solution, you go nowhere.

The world needs more social innovations.

I want to go further and make the UK the easiest place in the world to invest in social enterprise.

Our best and brightest must conceive of themselves as stewards of our society and confront the critical challenges of our time. It's the best bet for our society, for entrepreneurs, and for the investors who believe in them.

Social entrepreneurs come from different backgrounds and are by and large, starved of capital. Such socialpreneurs must have extraordinary passion to follow their dreams.

The rapid proliferation of cell phones in Afghanistan proves that anything that adds value to people's lives spreads like brushfire - and commerce is certainly a force that could add value for Afghanis.

People have to understand that unless social enterprise is experimental, it will not succeed in making a difference.

We begin to change the world when we stimulate long-term prosperity using technology. There is not a problem that's large enough that innovation and entrepreneurship can't solve.

True philanthropy requires a disruptive mindset, innovative thinking and a philosophy driven by entrepreneurial insights and creative opportunities.

Philanthropy is often seen as society's risk capital. That means the onus is on philanthropists, nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs to innovate. But philanthropic innovation is not just about creating something new. It also means applying new thinking to old problems, processes and systems.

Governments that invest billions in new hardware still find it hard to accept that they might benefit just as much from systematic innovation in such things as child development or cutting crime.

I'm not a non-profit person. I think of myself as an entrepreneur who wants to work on global education.

I believe that entrepreneurs play an unmatched role and the accelerating pace of innovation is transforming the face of global challenges. You must think about the solution differently when you're trying to impact 1 billion people rather than affecting 1 million people.

Philanthropists can learn important lessons from business entrepreneurs. They both spend their time solving problems. And to be successful, they both must overcome physical challenges and create self-sustaining operations. And ultimately, they must allow people to take action for their own benefit.

Innovation and commerce are as powerful tools for creating social progress as they are for driving technological advancement.

When I was first thinking about what would become Venture for America, I was trying to figure out how to solve a problem - that our top young people were being driven to roles that did not, to me, address the needs of our time. That VFA would be a non-profit just seemed like the most efficient way to solve the problem.

Social enterprise is an effective solution for social problems.

I think, what I would communicate to people, if you are really keen in helping the world, you could spend so much quality time in terms of coaching, learning, providing great energy to the social entrepreneurs.

While governments are not off the hook, the charity world needs to innovate and find new ways to attract outside investment to boost our social productivity.