Created by a team of young social entrepreneurs, Raise5 is a virtual community where people can purchase the knowledge and skills of others, for example, their IT, language or marketing expertise, for a charitable donation of just five dollars.

Describing it as ‘the only online marketplace that enables individuals to leverage their skills, talents, and creativity as a force for good', founder Mike Tang said: “We wanted to create a new way to give back that is fun and convenient. Looking around us we see that everyone has talents, so we thought how can we turn those talents into donations? And that’s when we came up with the idea for Raise5.”

The Screw Business As Usual competition, inspired by Sir Richard Branson’s eponymous book, and coordinated by his non-profit foundation Virgin Unite, received more than 500 entries, ranging from the world’s most ethical pants to a train carriage that allows passengers to share ideas on how to make the world a better place.

The winners were announced at last night's Screw Business As Usual Summit in London, a joint event with Virgin Unite and the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation, and will now join Branson on a once in a lifetime trip to South Africa with Virgin Unite, where they will get to share ideas with young entrepreneurs at the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship and experience the beautiful wildlife of South Africa at UIusaba, a private game reserve.

Branson who has inspired a new generation of philanthropic entrepreneurs admitted to being overwhelmed by the response to the competition and the quality and ingenuity of the ideas that were submitted.

He said: “Raise5 is a deserving winner and a great example of how people are helping to truly screw business as usual to create a better world.”

Pictured: The social entrepreneurs behind Raise5