Yordanos Eyoel is the Founder and CEO of Keseb, a nonprofit helping to build a transnational civil society ecosystem that advances inclusive and resilient democracies. She joins host Daniel Stid on The Art of Association podcast to talk about democracy entrepreneurship, the power of taking a transnational approach to democracy field-building, and the need to defend civil society while also reimagining it. Their conversation begins with Yordanos sharing how her experience growing up in Ethiopia amid civil war and ethnic strife, and then finding refuge with her family in the United States, shaped her commitment to renewing democracy in this country and around the world. Yordanos and Daniel also explore her experience as a venture philanthropist supporting democracy entrepreneurs at New Profit, what led her to become one herself and launch Keseb, the strategy and theory of change guiding the organization’s work, and what she and her colleagues have learned along the way about what it takes to strengthen democracy and civil society across borders.

Chapters

(1:17): Yordanos’s early life and how her migration story shaped her commitment to democracy

(4:17): New Profit’s venture philanthropy approach and support for democracy entrepreneurship

(9:58): What led Yordanos to launch Keseb and its global network of democracy entrepreneurs

(15:54): Keseb’s transnational strategy and theory of change

(23:30): Does scarce funding spur more creativity among democracy entrepreneurs?

(27:32): Why do illiberal populists and nationalists seem better able to learn from and reinforce one another's efforts than democracy advocates advancing universal values?

(32:24): What Keseb has been learning from its work to date

(40:23): How Keseb navigates the tension of defending civil society while also seeking to reimagine it

Resources

Yordanos’s first TED Talk, “Why Voting isn't Enough” and her other TED Talks

New Profit and New Profit’s Civic Lab

Keseb: Democracy Innovation Lab, Democracy Fellowship, and research and field intelligence

Sam Alemayehu, “The Seven-Year Century,” Medium (2025)

Yordanos’s writings

“Public Trust Reboot: Unleashing the Millennial Civic Spirit,” Stanford Social Innovation Review (2018)

“Weaving Democracy Entrepreneurship Across Borders,” Stanford Social Innovation Review (2024)

“Civil Society’s Dual Mission: Surviving and Architecting,” Keseb: The Outlook (2025)