• 1,400 participants from around the world join virtual convention on November 11-12
• Boehringer Ingelheim and Ashoka focus on empowerment of social entrepreneurs, celebrating a decade of partnership to tackle global healthcare issues
• By 2030, Making More Health aims to impact 50 million people in vulnerable communities, by supporting social entrepreneurs and creating smart, sustainable solutions.

Today marks the inaugural start of the “Making More Health Together 2021" convention. This- two-day open and virtual event, organized by Boehringer Ingelheim and Ashoka, focuses on the empowerment of social entrepreneurship and topics relevant to human and animal health, as well as social innovation. Over 1,400 participants from across academia, non-profit, industry, and political sectors are expected to engage, collaborate and network towards one common goal: to find more sustainable solutions for the most pressing healthcare issues of our time.

“Making More Health Together is a unique opportunity for everyone to join a network and collaborate to create solutions for sustainable change. Driven by a joint purpose to positively impact the lives of communities around the world, we are looking forward to new partnerships to increase our ambitions of more health even further,” says Yeleka Barrett, Making More Health, Global Partnerships Senior Manager, Ashoka.

In 2010, Boehringer Ingelheim and Ashoka, the world’s largest network of social entrepreneurs, jointly created Making More Health, a long-term partnership with the ambition to improve healthcare for people, animals, and their communities. The initiative focuses on connecting innovative and entrepreneurial solutions with business expertise to address complex healthcare challenges and to create systemic change.

Dr. Ilka Wicke, Global Head of Making More Health at Boehringer Ingelheim, says: “We have a strong commitment to improving health and transforming the lives of people. Through Making More Health, we create solutions for more sustainable future. By 2030, we aim to impact the lives and health of 50 million people and engage 20,000 Boehringer Ingelheim employees, through supporting social entrepreneurs in vulnerable communities.”

By supporting 12 social enterprises and 120 social entrepreneurs, as well as collaborating with local NGOs, Making More Health contributes to bridging the gap between business success and societal progress in vulnerable communities. The approach is focused on the “bigger picture” of health, by including interdependent issues relating to economic development, infrastructure, education, and culture with healthcare solutions. It also emphasizes collaboration with communities as equal partners and engages Boehringer Ingelheim employees to share their knowledge and skills.

For a decade, Making More Health has proven to be successful in a range of areas:

Social Innovation: Currently over 120 health innovators and social entrepreneurs worldwide working in the areas of human and animal health and the environment are supported.

Community Activation: Since 2014, community engagement programs have been initiated in India, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. Two Making More Health hubs have been established, which impact over 150,000 lives. Issues addressed include resolving clean water and hygiene measures, implementing innovative farming models, and providing animal health and business skills trainings. Inclusion programs for marginalized community groups, such as people with albinism, have proven to be gamechangers.

Cross-Sector Collaboration: Making More Health emphasizes a “win-win” collaborative approach to bridge the social and business sectors. One such initiative is the “Business Accelerator” funding program. It supports social start-ups in Sub-Saharan Africa with financial means and skills, to scale-up and sustain their business model. One example is Cowtribe, a “last mile” veterinary vaccine and medicine distribution network in rural Ghana, which has enabled access to healthcare for over 35,000 farmers and the animals their livelihood is dependent on. Thus far 12 social enterprises have been supported through the business accelerator program.

Link to the event page: MMH Together

Making More Health

Making More Health (MMH) is a long-term global initiative of Boehringer Ingelheim in collaboration with Ashoka, the world-largest network of social entrepreneurs. It focuses on co-creation with the aim of creating shared value to achieve better solutions for today’s global challenges, by integrating innovative social entrepreneurial thinking into business practices. MMH provides sustainable and holistic solutions to communities worldwide since 2010. Learn more at www.makingmorehealth.com

About Ashoka

Ashoka is a global non-profit organization and the world-largest network of social entrepreneurs. The organization supports social entrepreneurs (Ashoka Fellows) in approximately 70 countries. Ashoka Fellows receive financial support, advice, and connections to networks in the social sector and in business and academia so that they can spread the word about their projects. Learn more at www.ashoka.org