Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship Awards Fundación Paraguaya with 2024 Social Impact Excellence Award

Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University held its annual Fall In-Residence for social entrepreneurs where it awarded three organizations, including Fundación Paraguaya, with the Impact Excellence Award. The award was accepted by Luis Fernando Sanabria, General Manager of Fundación Paraguaya.

Each year, Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship nominates a select group of social enterprises for the Social Impact Excellence Award. These awardees have scaled dramatically since initial participation in their program, stayed engaged with Miller Center, are working on women's economic power or climate resilience, and have shown outstanding impact in their work. Fundación Paraguaya has been a part of the Miller Center social impact community for almost 20 years, participating in 5 programs since 2005. Both Luis Fernando Sanabria and Martin Burt, founder of Fundación Paraguaya have participated in the week-long program at Santa Clara University.

“We are incredibly honored to not only receive this award but continue to be amongst the innovating social impact organizations that engage with the Center,” said Sanabria. “The work Miller Center is doing accelerating social change models is incredibly valuable as we work towards ending poverty throughout the world.”

Two additional organizations were recognized with the 2024 Social Impact Excellence Award, including Warc Africa, represented by Christopher Zaw CEO & Partner, and Banka Bio, represented by Sanjay Banka, Executive Chairman. Warc Africa is an international partner of The Poverty Stoplight, a Fundación Paraguaya initiative, and offers first-mile solutions for farmers through its extensive network. Banka Bio provides decentralized and onsite sanitation and wastewater treatment solutions.

“This year’s Social Impact Excellence Award recipients exemplify the transformative power of social entrepreneurship,” said Brigit Helms, Executive Director of Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. “Fundación Paraguaya has been a trailblazer in creating innovative solutions to poverty, and their long-standing partnership with Miller Center underscores the importance of collaboration in driving sustainable, global impact. We are honored to celebrate their achievements and their continued commitment to ending poverty worldwide.”

About Fundación Paraguaya

Founded in 1985, Fundación Paraguaya is one of the longest running and largest non-profits in Latin America, with programs reaching hundreds of thousands of families in over 50 countries. Initially founded as a microfinance lending institution, it has incorporated other services such as financial and entrepreneurial education programs for young people and a network of self-sufficient agricultural schools in rural areas. Fundación Paraguaya developed the Poverty Stoplight, a new poverty metric and coaching methodology that uses technology, self-assessment, and a bottom-up approach to help families escape poverty and has been implemented in over 59 countries. Learn more at www.fundacionparaguaya.org.py and www.povertystoplight.org.

About Miller Center

For over 25 years, Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship has been a leader in the global social enterprise movement. With an emphasis on climate resilience and women’s economic power, Miller Center accelerates social entrepreneurship to end poverty and protect the planet, guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Located at Santa Clara University, it fuses the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley with the university’s heritage of social justice, community engagement, and global impact. Miller Center has served close to 1,500 social entrepreneurs based in over 100 countries that are impacting hundreds of millions of lives.