World in Asia (WiA) received JCIE funding for its work to support social entrepreneurship. Even prior to the devastating earthquake that struck on 3/11, the Tohoku region was facing serious challenges. The population was graying as younger generations moved away in search of jobs, causing a serious decline in the regional economy and the disintegration of communities. The disaster further intensified those trends. In order to promote long-term economic recovery in the region, WiA realized that you must not only rebuild the economic infrastructure that was there prior to the disaster, but also address these fundamental, underlying issues in order to create jobs and rebuild communities. They are developing a new model to support and expand the work of local entrepreneurs as a way to solve these issues. Read more…