Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship

🌍💡 "I think most people who end up founding a social enterprise don't think of themselves as social entrepreneurs. They are just trying to solve a problem." ~ Andrew Bastawrous, CEO of Peek Vision and The Peek Vision Foundation, speaking at the Oxford launch of the Global Innovation Index Report and its theme of Social Entrepreneurship. 🎥📢 The recording of this Insights for Action seminar is now available to watch online via the link below. The discussion explored the experiences of social entrepreneurs, the various innovation pathways they navigate, and the crucial role they play in driving systemic change. 👏 Huge thanks to World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO Marco M. Alemán and Saïd Business School, University of Oxford Soumitra Dutta for their thoughtful contributions and our panel 🗣Andrew Bastawrous, Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship Visiting Fellow Cynthia Rayner, Jeroo Billimoria, and moderator Marya Hill-Popper Besharov. 📅✨ Join us for the next Insights for Action seminar on Friday 15th November at 🕞 3:30pm—register on Eventbrite. #SocialEntrepreneurship 🌱 #Innovation 🚀 #GlobalInnovationIndex 🌐 #SystemicChange ♻️

💡 The Social Entrepreneurs Who Made Themselves Redundant 💡 📖 In this case study of ColaLife, a non-profit organisation addressing the critical lack of access to diarrhoea treatment in Zambia, Paulo Savaget and Pinar Ozcan challenge the traditional view that organisational permanence and growth are always desirable. 🌱 Discover how ColaLife prioritised building a self-sustaining ecosystem over expansion, aiming for long-term impact, by clicking on the link below. 👇

🌍 How can social enterprises succeed in volatile contexts with limited public infrastructure and governance? Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL), a pioneering social enterprise in Haiti, is showing the way forward. Focused on providing sustainable sanitation solutions, SOIL collaborates with government and international partners to explore innovative financing methods like household subsidies, carbon financing, and results-based financing. Founder Sasha Kramer reflects on their journey: “For years, we believed that a social enterprise model alone could sustainably cover the costs of providing a public good. But as we reviewed the numbers and looked at examples worldwide, we realized that even in wealthier countries, the public sector typically bears much of the cost and ensures universal access to sanitation. Now, SOIL integrates private-sector efficiencies within a public-private partnership, combining the agility of the private sector with the inclusivity of the public sector.” At the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, we’re excited to feature SOIL as part of our Global Innovation Index 2024 case study series. Starting with self-contained concrete public toilets, SOIL now offers a complete sanitation service, safely treating waste and transforming it into nutrient-rich compost that supports reforestation in Haiti. Discover more about SOIL’s innovative work in the link to the case study. #SocialImpact #Sanitation #PublicPrivatePartnership #SocialEnterprise #Innovation #Haiti #SkollCentre

Please join us on Friday, November 15th (⏰ 15:30-16:30 GMT) at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and online for our next #InsightsforAction seminar! In this seminar, which we are delighted to be co-hosting with The Gradel Institute of Charity, we will be joined by sociologist and non-profit strategist Leah Reisman, and EY sustainability partner and climate strategy advisor, Ben Taylor, to discuss the powerful role consultants play in shaping how organisations think about and do impact, in the non-profit, private and public sectors. Moderated by Professor Marya Hill-Popper Besharov, Academic Director of the Skoll Centre, the discussion will explore the power advisors wield, the problems that can arise in this relationship, and their potential to shape and scale the impact in the field. This seminar is hybrid and open to the public. For those joining in person, the seminar will be followed by a reception. Read more and register here: https://oxsbs.link/3UazHJe The Gradel Institute of Charity New College, Oxford Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

🌍 New Report: Navigating a Just Transition in Global Food Systems 🌍   Global food demand is projected to increase by over 50% by 2050, while rising temperatures and extreme weather are putting immense pressure on food production. Central to this challenge are 570 million smallholder farmers who feed one-third of the world’s population but are vulnerable to climate impacts. In response, the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and the Oxford Martin School, supported by Nestlé, have published Towards a Just Transition in Global Food Systems. This report shares insights from a January 2024 convening we held with over 80 expert participants from private, public, and social sectors, focused on leveraging systems thinking and scalable solutions for a just transition. Key Strategies Include:  ✨ Catalysing multi-stakeholder collaboration 💡 Realigning incentives and resources 🌍 Developing inclusive narratives 🤲 Adopting a ‘both/and’ mindset 🔄 Encouraging experimentation and adaptation To delve into the report's strategies and recommendations, click on the link below. We are grateful to all our experts and contributors to the convening and the report including Lexi Earl Duncan Williamson Jim Woodhill Monika Zurek Juliane Reinecke Matthew Amengual Abrar Chaudhury Cliodhnagh Conlon Chris Hogg Marya Hill-Popper Besharov Menna Clarke Jessica Jacobson Emma Keller Robin Sundaram Dorothée H. Zeeshan Suhail Asha Scaria Vettoor. #FoodSystems #Sustainability #SocialEntrepreneurship #JustTransition #Collaboration #SkollCentre #Nestle 

We’re sold out in person but there’s still time to register for online tickets for our Insights for Action Seminar on “Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship”. In collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO, hosted by Marya Hill-Popper Besharov, contributions from Cynthia Rayner Jeroo Billimoria Andrew Bastawrous and with opening remarks from Marco M. Alemán and Soumitra Dutta.   Insights for Action: Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship Tickets, Fri, Oct 11, 2024 at 3:30 PM | Online tickets available on Eventbrite.

🚨 New Book Alert 🚨 When does social pressure on businesses lead to more inclusive development? In his latest work, Communities, Mines, and Distributive Politics: Direct Contestation in the Andes, Matthew Amengual, Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship Fellow and Associate Professor of International Business at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and Fellow at Kellogg College, University of Oxford, dives deep into this critical question. Published by Oxford University Press, the book provides insightful case studies of mining conflicts in Bolivia and Peru. Exploring the complexities of corporate-community relations, Matthew explains: “While many conflicts around large projects, such as mines, often seem to yield minimal benefits for local communities, there are instances where these contentious interactions lead to significant improvements—whether in jobs, social services, or environmental quality. This book aims to uncover why that happens and offer strategies for fostering more inclusive and sustained development.” If you're interested in the intersection of social impact, sustainability, and development, this is a must-read 🌍 📘 Check it out: https://bit.ly/3YgSMw4 #Mining #SocialImpact #SocialInnovation #Sustainability #SustainableDevelopment #LatinAmerica

🌍 What Will It Take for Social Entrepreneurship to Scale? As part of the Skoll Centre’s contribution to the World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO’s Global Innovation Index 2024, Academic Director Marya Hill-Popper Besharov has written an article on the critical policy changes needed to help social innovation thrive on a larger scale. 💡 Please share your thoughts or comments—What changes do you think are essential for scaling social impact? #SocialEntrepreneurship 🌱 #SystemsInnovation 🔄 #Impact 💥 #Sustainability ♻️ #SkollCentre 🌟 #WIPO ✨ #PositiveChange 💪 #SocialImpact 🌍

🌍 Over 2 billion people worldwide are living with vision impairments — yet more than half remain undiagnosed or untreated. At the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, we are pleased to feature Peek Vision, a social enterprise included in the World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO Global Innovation Index 2024 case study series. Peek Vision is transforming eye care in low-resource settings across Africa and Asia with its mobile app, enabling non-specialists to screen and refer patients for necessary care. As Andrew Bastawrous, CEO & Founder of Peek Vision, puts it: "We ensure every part of the system is connected, making sure that each role — from screenings to surgeries — works together seamlessly. Across different locations, people are using our app to improve access to eye care, and they've been trained by our team to make it happen." Read more about Peek Vision’s work in the full case study: Peek Vision Case Study here https://bit.ly/3ZO52Fs We invite you to join us on Friday, October 11th, at our Insights for Action seminar, where Andrew will share his experiences as a social entrepreneur and systems orchestrator, alongside Marya Hill-Popper Besharov and other experts in the field. Please visit the Skoll Centre website to register for the webinar. #SocialEntrepreneurship #Innovation #SystemsChange #EyeHealth #Impact #SkollCentre #GlobalInnovationIndex #PeekVision #HealthcareTransformation

🚀 New Series Alert! The Skoll Centre has published a new series of case studies featuring 14 social enterprises that are leveraging different forms of innovation to address pressing social and environmental challenges. 🌍💡    Social entrepreneurship has emerged as a powerful force, with an estimated 30 million social entrepreneurs worldwide contributing approximately $2 trillion to global GDP.     What unites these organisations is their innovative approach—driven not just by financial goals, but by the desire to create and scale social impact. 🌱    This new series offers deep insights into:  - Each organisation’s unique innovation activities,  - The challenges they’ve faced while pursuing these pathways,  - And the key lessons learned along the way.    Spanning diverse sectors, geographies, and social issues, they highlight the crucial role of innovation in building a better future.    Developed in conjunction with and supported by World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO as part of their Global Innovation Index 2024.     🔗 Explore the full series and learn more about how social enterprises are transforming the world through innovation. Bandhu Urban Tech Community Design Agency Eco Femme Fairtrasa®Green Bio Energy Ltd Greenhope.co MAMUT PISOS INDUSTRIALES Y DEPORTIVOS, iKure Techsoft Pvt. Ltd. Peek Vision SmartStart South Africa Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL) Tebita Ambulance Thaki. Unlock their potential and WeRobotics   #SocialEntrepreneurship #Innovation #SocialImpact #Sustainability #SkollCentre #CaseStudies #SocialChange