Michael Vollmann

Co-founder nebenan.de

Michael Vollmann is one of the co-founders of nebenan.de – Europe’s biggest social network for neighborhood communities. Nebenan.de connects more than half a million neighbors in over 3.200 private and secure neighborhood networks. Currently he is the managing director of the nebenan.de foundation a non-profit organization promoting outstanding neighborly and civic engagement in Germany.

Before that, he has been an International Program Director at Ashoka since 2012, responsible for the Globalizer Program an international cross cutting accelerator program for advanced Social Entrepreneurs around the world. Over the last five years, over 140 select Ashoka Fellows from more than 35 countries have participated in the Globalizer process, along with hundreds of senior business leaders, management consultants and other thought experts from around the world.
Founded in 1980 Ashoka provides stipends, technical assistance and access to a global network of peers to more than 3,000 social entrepreneurs in 80 countries globally, 51 of which are from Germany.
Michael started a strategic multi-year partnership between Ashoka and Siemens Foundation – the Community Impact Development Group (CIDG) – a global collaboration platform for social entrepreneurs with tech innovations targeting basic needs of rural communities in developing countries. This international network supported social entrepreneurs from more than a dozen
developing countries in Latin America and Sub-Sahara Africa in refining their business model, making them investor ready and exchanging learnings as peers. Besides he is a regular keynote
-and guest-speaker/lecturer on social entrepreneurship, social business and social innovation at conferences, universities and company events, including Grameen Global Social Business Summit 2014 (Mexico City), Al Jazeera Annual Forum 2014 (Doha), BRAC Froogle Innovation Summit 2014 (Dhaka), Hertie School of Governance (Berlin) and more.

He received his diploma degree (equivalent of a combined bachelor & master) in Intercultural Business Studies at the University of Passau, Germany and the State University of Rio de Janeiro and is an active Alumni of the International Scouting Movement. In 2012 he visited the Executive Course on Social Entrepreneurship at INSEAD Business School.