Module on Funding – Visionary Program
Rarely have I been as impressed with philanthropy as in this case.
On the weekend, we at Ashoka HashtagVisionaryProgram hosted multiple events on the topic of funding. Funding that enables HashtagImprovingSystems– education, democratic institutions, healthcare, environment protection.
Our key guest has been Martin Vohánka, a Czech self-made entrepreneur from the Forbes Czech list, who for the last 30 years has been leading EUROWAG, the only CZ company listed on the London stock exchange.
Martin shared his journey to Hashtagphilanthropy– from directly supporting families in need to a comprehensive portfolio of efforts to strengthen democracy & life quality in Czechia.
What impressed me most is the cohesive and mutually complementary nature of Martin’s activities:
🧩Martin started by putting sustainability at the heart of his own business. If truck delivery of goods has no viable substitution in the near future, then reducing its negative impacts as much as possible by optimizing routes and transitioning to electric fuel are needed.
🧩Together with other entrepreneurs and experts, Martin initiated a platform to formulate & implement the vision for Second Economic Transformation in Czechia (Druhá ekonomická transformace z. s.).It’s an interesting example of how a long-term strategic vision for the country has been initiated outside of the political ecosystem.
After socialism ended, the first economic transformation in Czechia took place. Now, they feel, the country is ready to move from being more of an assembly line to a country that initiates innovations, assembles and sells products, with added value staying in a country and incomes increasing.The vision has gained traction and echoes itself in policies of political forces across the board.
🧩The next pillar is supporting modernization of the state & public administration, reducing bureaucratic barriers and coordinating reforms. This is again done in partnership with other philanthropists and strong citizen sector organizations via Aliance pro moderní stát.
🧩Another pillar is supporting independent Hashtagjournalism as a key pillar of democratic society –offering resources for journalists in the regions, investigative journalism and journalistic awards.
🧩And lastly, supporting improvement of education via Nadace BLÍŽKSOBĚ foundation led by Marcela Murgašová. What is unique about it is the focus on trustful & long-term relationship with impact partners, cultivation of collaboration and mutual feedback.
Martin emphasized all of this is possible mainly thanks to multiple leading entrepreneurs coming together and leveraging their collective resources and networks. The level of self-organization among them is a topic for a different post.
There for sure are challenges and questions on the way.
But WOW, if more people with resources and principles would be as engaged and would invest as much energy in helping our societies become more prosperous places 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹, we would live in a better world!
