How did today’s big and high-impact African social entrepreneurs get started? They described years of desperation and uncertainty, sending grant proposals into the void while waiting for that first yes. Willie Mpasuka founded Rays of Hope Malawi , which today improves foundational learning for 200,000 students per year. For example, a common criteria ‘funders’ want to see in ‘doers’ is founder commitment. Our organisation, D-Prize, has given more than 300 startup grants to new social entrepreneurs in Africa.