Six years ago, Argentina faced its own financial crisis when its traditional banking system was dismantled. Where others saw disaster, Pablo Ordóñez found an opportunity to create jobs for those most vulnerable to financial hard times.

The Changemakers community has suffered the loss of a valued member, Ron Rivera, who died Sept. 3 from malaria contracted while he was working to ensure safe water supplies in Nigeria. In his Changemakers profile, Rivera wrote, “I look for sparks, and feed those sparks so others become changemakers also.”

Nau, the innovative, ecological outdoor clothing store that closed its doors in May is being revived. Nau will sell only through the web and selected retail partners, and is scaling back the number of its Partners for Change—organizations that customers select to receive two percent of their purchase price—to six partners including Ashoka, Kiva.org, Mercy Corps, Breakthrough Institute, and Ecotrust.

This week's Newsweek reports that the web is becoming "a powerful new tool for bottom-up, collaborative innovation." It says "Ashoka's newest Web initiative, Changemakers.net, is a marketplace of ideas to address social problems.

Maria Zapata: Although innovation and entrepreneurship are usually associated with business and technology, social entrepreneurs can help businesses extend their markets and reach new markets. The social sector must become competent and competitive to tap these synergies.