Meet the 2018 Skoll Awardees for Social Entrepreneurship

As we prepare to head to Oxford for the 15th Annual Skoll World Forum, we are delighted to introduce you to our 2018 Skoll Awardees for Social Entrepreneurship!

The Skoll Awards distinguish transformative leaders whose organizations disrupt the status quo, drive sustainable large-scale change, and are poised to create even greater impact on the world.

“It is a special moment when our ‘family’ of extraordinary social entrepreneurs expands with the selection of new Awardees,” said Jeff Skoll, Founder and Chairman of the Skoll Foundation. “Our community immediately strengthens, as does our collective understanding of how to solve the world’s most pressing problems.”

By investing in organizations when their innovations are ripe for accelerated and scaled adoption, the Skoll Awards help unleash the full global potential and reach of social entrepreneurship.

“Working side-by-side with those most affected by violence, injustice, or exclusion, these six social entrepreneurs—five of whom are women—have drawn upon an array of technologies to design their innovative solutions,” said Sally Osberg, President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation. “In tackling issues ranging from financial inclusion to clean energy to poverty alleviation, these pioneering leaders, together with their teams and partners, demonstrate the potential for lasting equilibrium change.”

Each of the six 2018 Awardees leads an organization that shows great promise of outsized impact.

Lesley Marincola with Angaza provides a pay-as-you-go technology platform to increase affordability of clean energy products for the world’s 1 billion off-grid customers.

Jess Ladd with Callisto dismantles barriers to reporting sexual assault through its online platform, which provides survivors with new reporting options and institutions with actionable data to guard against and respond to the problem.

Jennifer Pahlka with Code for America helps build and deploy open-source technology in partnership with governments to make their public services simple, effective, and easy to use by citizens.

Barbara Pierce Bush with Global Health Corps seeds the field of global health with young, non-traditional talent, building a network of innovative future leaders through its distinctive leadership program.

Anushka Ratnayake with myAgro is a pioneering mobile layaway savings model enables smallholder farmers to invest in the high-quality inputs that will improve their harvests and lift them out of poverty.

Harish Hande with SELCO builds a holistic ecosystem that increases the accessibility, affordability, and sustainability of renewable energy for the poor.

Awardee organizations receive $1.25 million in core support investments to scale their work and increase their impact. The social entrepreneurs also gain leverage through their long-term participation in a global community of visionary leaders and innovators dedicated to solving some of the biggest global challenges of our time.

For a full press kit, please contact Teresa Guillien.

Watch live as these remarkable social entrepreneurs accept their Awards at the Skoll World Forum Awards Ceremony (#SkollWF) on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 at 4:00-6:00PM (GMT+1). skoll.org/live

Or watch all of our live video coverage on our Facebook page @SkollFoundation