About us

What drives us

We believe in a world where people
do what they really are.

This is why we empower individuals and organizations around the world to step up and take responsibility – for themselves, for others and for a higher goal.

We are a family of self-confident responsible citizens who actively shape their own future. We create impact by making people think and act as entrepreneurs and by enabling them to lead themselves as well as others.

Our values

How it all started

In 2005, Carsten traveled to Mongolia with a group of European Scouts for the first time. During a visit to a rural elementary school, he noticed the lack of quality school books and started to collect books when back home in Germany

In 2009, they returned to set up the first learning center with the local scout leader Uuganaa as its social entrepreneur. The learning center offered quality courses taught by locals for locals according to the locally felt needs. All courses were offered against a minimal fee which allowed the learning center to break even and pay back the initial investment.

Today BOOKBRIDGE has developed into an impactful and purpose-driven social enterprise. ,

How much do we earn?

How we perform

Transparency is very important to us.

All staff and overhead costs are covered by BOOKBRIDGE GmbH through revenues generated by our action learning programs. This allows the Foundation to invest all income into creating sustainable social enterprises.

We are transparent on all spending including our salaries and return on investments.

View latest figures

How we are organized

BOOKBRIDGE was incorporated as a tax-exempted foundation in Basel, Switzerland in 2010. To separate our impact investing activities from our leadership development programs, BOOKBRIDGE GmbH was setup in Neumarkt, Germany. The GmbH is fully owned by the Foundation.

The Foundation has closed partnership agreements with our country organizations and social enterprises. They are all legally indepdendent institutions in their countries.

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Who we are

We are a strong and passionate team with members from around the world.

DR. CARSTEN RÜBSAAMEN

Leadership Team, Co-Founder

Carsten co-founded BOOKBRIDGE in 2009. He is a passionate social entrepreneur and Ashoka Fellow.

ARLETTE HERNANDEZ

Leadership Team

Starting her career in international business in Mexico, Arlette did her MBA in Germany and manages our programs with social entrepreneurs.

AMARSAIKHAN PUREV

Country Manager Mongolia

Amar worked in IT before entering the field of social entrepreneurism. He is our Mongolian "fahther" and oversees more than 15 social enterprises.

TUNGA MUNKHJARGAL

Program Support Manager

Altantungalag "Tunga" has been part of BOOKBRIDGE since our early times. Having studied in Berlin she is the personalized bridge between Europe and Mongolia.

RUTH HEIDINGSFELDER

Leadership Team, Co-Founder

As one of the founders of BOOKBRIDGE, Ruth takes care of financials, administration and marketing.

MARISOL BORBON

Leadership Team

After attending our program to Cambodia, Marisol decided to switch sides - and is now managing our programs with professionals.

SOKHAN KHUT

Country Manager Cambodia

From archeology to social entrepreneurship: Sokhan manages our projects in Cambodia - and is the best guide to Angkor Wat historic site.

SUJITHA MIRANDA

Country Manager Sri Lanka

Being our first social entrepreneur in Sri Lanka, Sujitha rapidly developed her entrepreneurial skills and is Country Manager for Sri Lanka since 2018.