Rob Wilson Rob Wilson is the Co-Author of 'On the Up' and Entrepreneur in Residence at Ashoka, a global association of leading social entrepreneurs. Whilst at University Rob also founded READ International, a student-led development charity with his wife Nikki, Co-Author of 'On the Up'.

In 2011, my wife Nikki and I embarked on a journey of a lifetime from Cape Town to Cairo. No ordinary adventure, we travelled through 11 countries with one key mission: to find and capture the stories of exceptional social entrepreneurs who are transforming Africa. Last week we launched our book ‘On the Up’,  a collection of short stories about these incredible individuals who are using entrepreneurial solutions to drive social and environmental change.

Thought-provoking, inspiring and often quite hilarious, On the Up challenges you to think about your own role in driving change and encourages you to see that anything is possible. It showcases what it means to be a ‘social entrepreneur’ and also demonstrates that, despite its challenges, Africa is on the up.

As student volunteers, Nikki and I co-founded a social venture of our own in 2004 at University of Nottingham called READ International (www.readinternational.org.uk). A student-led charity which redistributes educational resources from the UK to East Africa, READ has so far donated over one million books to Tanzanian and Ugandan schools. After university I chose to take READ on full time and oversaw its national expansion whilst Nikki joined the Cancer research UK graduate scheme.

Coming from this charity background, Nikki and I are trying to shake up people’s pre-conceptions about charity work and counterbalance the bad press that Africa often receives. Drawing from our experiences across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Egypt, they have created On the Up as a collection of short stories about entrepreneurial solutions to social and environmental challenges. 

_{Emmanuel Jal's Charity 'Gua Africa' is working with individuals, families and communities to overcome the effects of war and poverty.} 

On the Up’s stories stretch across all causes and whatever your interest area, age or take on life, you’re sure to find a story which leaves you inspired. The book includes a Buddhist who is training rats to sniff out landmines; an ex-child soldier who uses his rap star status to change lives; a gap year student who now works on death row; and a mum and dad duo who are working with Coca-Cola to distribute medical aid (www.colalife.org).

In every country we travelled through we uncovered innovative projects run by such inspiring individuals. Unlike the major international charities, these people rarely gain the limelight. Yet they are part of a movement of committed social entrepreneurs driving change not just within Africa, but right across the globe.

On the Up was supported by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and the Vodafone Foundation. The book will be sold for profit with 20% being donated back to the projects profiled.

I have also recently founded a tech start up to connect the next billion to ICT and the internet, called NoPC (www.nopc.org.uk) and currently work at Ashoka UK (www.uk.ashoka.org) as Social Entrepreneur in Residence. Part of this role is championing and supporting the national expansion of Student Hubs.

Find out more about Africa's new generation of social entrepreneurs at www.ontheup.org.uk or buy the book here.