Following the successful sale of his first venture, in 2005 Swiss entrepreneur Yann Borgstedt embarked on a mission to tackle inequalities in the developing world. His motivation was clear.
Having been fortunate enough to set up and sell a successful business, Yann held the strong view that acquiring wealth for the sake of it was neither a sufficient nor fulfilling end. Yann wanted to use his money in a way which would enable as many people as possible to have the same opportunities as him.
He established the Womanity Foundation, with the core mission to empower girls and women in developing countries to shape their future and accelerate progress within their communities.
Yann takes pride in shaping his philanthropic efforts on entrepreneurial principles, advocating the analogy “if you looked at your society through the lens of a balance sheet and half of it (women) was not operating effectively, you cannot expect it to be successful”.
After a successful first decade in charge of Womanity, Yann’s ambition for the next ten years is clear; through application of entrepreneurial values and a people-focused philanthropic approach, he is working to not only bring about positive and sustainable change to the lives of millions of women and girls, but to do this with a motivation to strengthen societies as a whole.