Catalyst Now

Why does data fail to change behaviors? In our latest Medium article, Ankita Mirani (Social Innovation Studio) shows us what happens when a data collection system is redesigned as a learning and behavior change experience. Working with Vrutti and Livelihood Impact Partners, we discovered that traditional surveys often feel extractive, leaving families with “scores” they can’t meaningfully use. By transforming the survey into a Household Resilience Journal, we shifted the focus from merely collecting data to fostering personal reflection. As a result, household intent to act on resilience goals surged from 5% to nearly 60%. When behavior change is the goal, the most powerful intervention is often not changing the program but the process itself. To truly drive systems change, we must move beyond designing for people and start designing with them. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/epe2JBA2 Thanks to Vaidehi Patil and  Shraddha Rawat for the authoring support. Would you like to have your article published? Get in touch with Mehr-un-Nisa Usman   #SystemsChange #SocialInnovation #DataDignity #CatalystNow

Behind every impact is a social innovator working day after day to drive systemic change. Yet, according to the WHO, 1 in 2 people will face a mental health challenge in their lifetime. How do we design spaces where care and innovation aren’t mutually exclusive, but complementary? This #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth, we’re diving into conversations about resilience, care, and how to sustain ourselves and our communities in complex times. Upcoming Sessions 🔹May 21 & 28 | Being Human While Everything Is on Fire: A safe space for social entrepreneurs to explore the personal and collective challenges of working through uncertainty, pressure, and change. Chris Underhill MBE (Moderator), Kate Sachs Leventhal , Hannah Morillo , Joy Bittner  🔹May 22 | The Human Session: An intentional pause to slow down, breathe, and simply be human.  🔹June 2 | Change Hub: From Insight to Action: A space to turn reflection into practice, translating ideas into meaningful, real-world change. Collince Dundo , Hannah Morillo , Chris Underhill MBE  (Moderator) and Andrea Coleman Register here for our: https://lnkd.in/eW7EZvH9 Read our blog on mental health and learn more about our resources: https://lnkd.in/ekj8yyJX

Catalyst Now has partnered with Spice Without Borders for the Spicy Awards 2026, a global platform celebrating activists, creatives, entrepreneurs, and social innovators whose work challenges norms, inspires action, and restores dignity to marginalized or vulnerable communities. These awards not only recognize the talent and dedication of those working on the front lines but also provide them with access to a global network of allies, resources, and opportunities to scale their impact. Join the global gathering on September 12, 2026, in Nairobi, Kenya. For more information, visit: https://lnkd.in/eyY8GKy4 #CatalystNow #SpicyAwards #SystemicChange #SocialInnovation

Catalyst Now South Africa is strengthening the Social and Solidarity Economy in South Africa and across the African continent. We bring together social innovators (including social entrepreneurs, cooperatives, funders, and researchers) to create a more inclusive and just economic model. Over the next 12 months, we will lay the groundwork for the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unconference 2027, an event that will take place alongside the World Economic Forum. This process will unfold through provincial dialogues, academic colloquiums, and Pan-African roundtables. Register by May 31, 2026, to join the movement: https://lnkd.in/enFm6srH For questions or more information, contact southafricachapter@catalystnow.net. #SocialInnovation #CatalystNow

For months, we've sat with the same thoughts: social innovators are proving that change is possible, yet outdated financing structures often constrain rather than enable their impact. Which raises an important question: are funding models keeping pace with the urgency and complexity of the challenges we face? Because we believe the world isn't short of solutions, but short of alignment, we created the Ecosystem Funders Council (EFC), a space where forward-thinking philanthropic partners and social innovators come together to rethink how funding can better enable systemic change. It's not another traditional donor network; it is a participatory platform to strengthen the infrastructure that allows ecosystems to collaborate, influence systems, and scale solutions globally. If you're a philanthropist, social innovator, or strategic ally committed to reimagining funding for real impact, we invite you to join the conversation: how do we transform financing so it truly enables the change the world urgently needs? Join the EFC and help shape the answer: partnerships@catalystnow.net https://lnkd.in/ehNwHCUn Catalyst Now Angola, Catalyst Now - South Africa, Catalyst Now Asia & the Pacific,Catalyst Now Europe Chapter, Catalyst Now México, Catalyst Now Syria Chapter

Africa’s young changemakers have boundless innovation, knowledge, and passion. What they often lack is access to mentors, trusted networks, and systems thinking that can help scale their impact. Too many are still building in isolation. That’s why we created the InterGen Bridge Initiative (Buddy System – Youth Edition), pairing high-potential social entrepreneurs under 35 with experienced changemakers to accelerate progress toward funding, growth, and credibility. The real transformation went deeper than expected. Participants now lead with greater confidence, think more strategically, understand their ventures within larger systems, and break down silos to co-create innovative collaborations and impact. Catalyst Now exists to support the people and organizations already driving change, acting as an alignment layer and operating system that brings together ideas, capital, policy, and leadership, so they can work in harmony instead of in isolation. Thank you to all the mentors and mentees. We look forward to staying connected and growing together the umbrella movements.   Mentors:  Jackie Malomba, MBA, Nkunzurwanda Olivier, Daniel Chavo Kisekka, Esreal THEMBO, Audrey Odogu. MSc, AITAD, MSPIN, Tobi Adegbite, Sandile Tshabalala (he/him), Chitundu Malunda & Ernest Chapi Mukete  Mentees: Leslie Mudimu, Isaac Ashige, Daniel Balmun, Shamsudeen Abdulrazak, Denis Taban& Wavinya K.   Global Shapers Partners: Penelope Gregoriou, Angele M. Y. & Adam Amoussou.  #CatalystNow #InterGenBridge #Mentorship #SocialInnovation #YouthEmpowerment #AfricaGlobalShapers

May brings new opportunities to reflect and recharge. As we enter Mental Health Awareness Month, it's time to reflect on the well-being and the resilience of our communities. Join us online for a series of impactful events designed to foster the resilience and well-being needed to drive global change. Upcoming Events: 🔹May 5 | AI for Human Potential - May Change Hub Session: An interactive session where we explore how AI can help uncover hidden talents and turn them into real impact 🔹May 5 | New School, Communities, and Adult Support: A learning series that explores unconventional methods of learning 🔹May 7, 12,14 &22 | Discovery Session APAC: Explore how we work, and connect with social innovators across the APAC region.  🔹May 14 | Change Hub: Emotional Resilience - Finding Peace in the Midst of Crisis (A seminar in French) 🔹May 14 | Change Hub: Emotional Resilience – Practical Application and Peer Exchange (French) 🔹May 21 | Being Human While Everything Is on Fire: A Safe Space for Social Entrepreneurs: A webinar where we'll explore our personal and collective challenges  🔹May 27 | General Assembly of Catalyst Now (members only) 🔹May 29 | The Human session: An intentional pause, a moment to slow down, breathe, and simply be human.  Explore all events and sign up now: https://lnkd.in/e3ccxdiB #SocialInnovation #CatalystNow #Learn

A warm welcome to the 52 new members joining us this April! We’re excited to connect and create unique collaborations that drive systemic change, enabling leaders and their organizations to move together, breaking silos and turning collaboration into real systems change. We are convinced the world doesn’t lack solutions; it lacks alignment. That’s why we invite the ecosystem of social innovators to connect, collaborate, and join the global umbrella movement for social innovators. Not a member of Catalyst Now yet? Learn more about our free membership and apply here: https://lnkd.in/en3Jwh-W

Rwamwanja, like many refugee settlements, was designed to meet immediate needs: shelter, basic services, and stability in the aftermath of a crisis. However, for many families, what was meant to be temporary became the backdrop of daily life. In this context, with support from Catalyst Now, the Refugee Innovation Hub (RIC) was launched, where refugees began to organize themselves practically, forming community groups and support networks to lead educational initiatives and the various livelihoods needed in the long-term settlements. By 2025, more than 28,000 refugees were supported, hundreds of children gained access to primary education, and more than 600 girls received training in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). This transformed the way life functioned within the settlement, shifting from exclusive dependence on external systems to empowering its residents, creating a different dimension shaped by lived experience and a sustained presence. Today, Catalyst Now members respond daily to challenges in diverse contexts, demonstrating that social innovation is vital for systems transformation. 👉 Find this and many more stories in our Impact Report: https://lnkd.in/ee_MhzW3 #Refugees #SocialInnovation #ImpactStories Nkunzurwanda Olivier

At the debut of the Ecosystem Funders Council at the #SWF2026, one truth resonated louder than ever: we must invest in the systems that orchestrate collaboration. Convened by our founder Jeroo Billimoria and co-chairs Cheryl Dorsey and Karen, Countess Spencer, the session brought together philanthropic leaders, social innovators, and community-led organisations around a shared proposition: coordinated funding is not a side conversation, it is the infrastructure for systems change. Powerful reflections from Tim Hanstad on the promise of the Ecosystem Funders Council, alongside contributions from Governing Council members Manoj Panjwani, Valeria Duflot, Dan Viederman, Therese von Blixen-Finecke, and Manmeet Mehta, helped anchor rich discussions on coordinated funding, solidarity, and what it takes to finance ecosystems, not just individual interventions. And the evidence is already here. Shiv Kumar and the Catalyst Now ecosystem delivered 2 million vaccines in one month. Or Chris Underhill MBE, where 179 organisations are collaborating through Catalyst Now’s mental health collaboration to reduce isolation for hundreds of people. These are not isolated wins. They are what becomes possible when ecosystems are resourced. As Vanessa Wai (Skoll Foundation) underscored, Catalyst Now has demonstrated exponential growth by connecting, collaborating, and enabling social entrepreneurs to amplify impact. Yet the gap remains stark. Only 3% of funding reaches grassroots organisations, while millions of volunteer hours hold the system together. From Martín Burt’s reminder that social innovators are too often trapped in a “poverty spotlight,” to Sakena Yacoobi’s call for ecosystem platforms empowering youth leaders in Afghanistan, and Nadia Kist’s and Matthew Bishop’s insights on systemic change, the need for alignment has never been clearer. The challenge before us is clear: redefine funding architecture to strengthen the systems that enable collective action, Tim Hanstad. Because the world isn’t short of solutions. It is short of alignment. At Catalyst Now, we believe social innovators move further when they move together, not in silos. Collaboration is not the soft tissue around change. It is the engine of systems transformation. If you are interested in joining the Ecosystem Funders Council, reach out to us at partnership@catalystnow.net