Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Annual Report 2024 2025

Youth and Social Innovation Initiative Young social innovators are leading powerful, locally rooted responses to our world’s most pressing challenges. Yet they continue to face deeply entrenched barriers – such as limited access to capital, under-recognized leadership and overlooked mental health needs – that prevent them from scaling their solutions and shaping the systems that define their future. Launched in June 2025 at the Schwab Foundation Summit, the Youth and Social Innovation Initiative is a three-year effort by the Schwab Foundation, in collaboration with the Global Shapers Community and with support from SAP and Hyundai Motor Group. The initiative focuses on three critical levers: unlocking flexible, early-stage capital for youth- led ventures; strengthening the visibility and credibility of young changemakers in institutional spaces; and embedding mental health as a core pillar of sustainable leadership. Co-created with an advisory group of 15 selected Global Shapers and social innovation leaders, the initiative aims to shift how the global ecosystem funds, supports and collaborates with youth. By facilitating intergenerational partnership and cross-sector action, it is working to ensure young changemakers are not only seen but meaningfully supported to lead lasting, systemic change. Credit: Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Schwab Foundation Annual Report 2024–2025 29