Asia 21 Young Leader of the Week: MARK RUIZ

Mark Ruiz has recently attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He was a discussion leader in the session Catalyzing Markets through Philanthropy, as well as a participant in The Global Innovation Heatmap: Future of Philanthropy. Given that Hapinoy was awarded as SEOY for Asia in 2011, Mark feels “extremely humbled and privileged to have been able to attend this year, as a member of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs.”
As per Mark, “It was crystal clear that the world’s pressing challenges can only be solved with a multi-stakeholder approach looking at the macro, the micro, the short-term, and the long-term almost simultaneously; In relation to my work as a Social Entrepreneur, I feel excited because it’s also apparent that social entrepreneurship – solving social problems using a market-based approach – has a unique contribution into this conversation; Specifically, large corporations can learn and collaborate with Social Enterprises in order to integrate a social element into the business bottom-line; Government can also learn from the experience of social enterprises in making programs have more sustained efforts and integrate elements of the business discipline.”
Read about his experience, here.
Mark Ruiz is the Co-Founder and President of MicroVentures Inc / Hapinoy, empowering women micro-entrepreneurs at the base-of-the-pyramid, and Founding Partner of Rags2Riches, which helps marginalized communities create fashion-designer items from recycled materials. After graduating from the Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in BS Management Engineering, Mark spent 7 years in a multinational corporation, rising through varying positions within Customer Development. He eventually left a senior manager position in order to chase his dream of making a difference, as a social entrepreneur. To deepen his knowledge in this sense, he has attended INSEAD‘s Social Enterprise Program (ISEP) in 2009, and is a fellow of Santa Clara University’s Global Social Benefit Incubator for 2011. He has also been recognized as an Asia 21 Young Leader, Go Negosyo Young Inspiring Social Entrepreneur, and Social Entrepreneur of the Year – Asia by the Schwab Foundation.