2025 Skoll World Forum Part 1
2025 Skoll World Forum Part 3
By Alliance for Sustainability President Terry Gips
Where is hope in the long, dark tunnel we find ourselves? Light – not that from an oncoming train – but, from brilliant, hardworking social entrepreneurs creating a new future for all of us.
Yes, we face a world of too many ruthless, authoritarian heads of state or wannabes wreaking havoc on people and our planet, ominously seeking to set it back to a dark and dangerous past devoid of morals, ethics, compassion and common decency.
While it may seem hard to see it, the light of a new day is present in a new generation of shining stars. These inspiring leaders have been toiling tirelessly on the ground with grit and determination to successfully solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges.
The spotlight shined on some of them and the five innovative, impactful organizations they’ve created at the 22nd Skoll World Forum in Oxford, UK.
At an April 3 Ceremony, they received the prestigious Skoll Award for Social Innovation for “advancing transformational social change to create a more sustainable, peaceful and prosperous world for all.” Each organization was given a $2 million prize and a network of support to scale their impact.
The 1,500 of us delegates giving the rousing standing ovation for their work were deeply moved to take that entrepreneurial energy back home to further our work and spread the ripples out to create a global tsunami of transformational change. My hope is that you’ll feel it and be part of this new wave.
So, without further ado, here are the first two of the five winners that give me so much hope. Next week we’ll feature the other three.
EarthEnable: Healthy, Affordable and Sustainable Housing in Rural Africa
Challenge: “1.6 billion people globally live in substandard housing with dirt floors and mud structures, causing disease, poor quality of life and physical insecurity. In rural areas, affordable and sustainable housing is scarce, leaving millions vulnerable to unhealthy living conditions. Concrete, commonly used for flooring, is expensive for many families, difficult to transport, and carbon-intensive.”
Solution: Under the leadership of co-founder and CEO Gayatri Datar, EarthEnable has developed a novel, affordable, locally-sourced and environmentally-friendly earthen, adobe-like floor and building material with protective varnish.
They are catalyzing the development of a community-based green housing industry in East Africa through partnerships with local organizations to train masons. They have improved the health, comfort, dignity and living conditions of rural African families while minimizing the industry’s overall carbon footprint. See the Skoll video.
Hope: Its innovative model fosters economic mobility and market-driven solutions while addressing the housing crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. It has achieved a 60% growth in impact from 2023 to 2024 and:
- Installed 4.4 million square feet of sustainable flooring that has improved the health and well-being of more than 200,000 people across Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda
- Created or improved more than 1,000 jobs in eastern Africa
- Provided a solution that is 70% cheaper and uses 90% less energy to produce than concrete flooring
- Co-founded the Local Building Materials Think Tank, which wrote the nationwide regulatory standards in Rwanda for building with adobe blocks, and is currently advising adoption of the same regulations in Kenya
Apis & Heritage Capital Partners: Restoring the American Dream of Worker Ownership
Challenge: “Economic opportunity in the US is unevenly distributed, leaving many hard-working Americans without a path to financial security or the ability to invest in their children’s futures. At the same time, millions of small businesses owned by retiring baby boomers struggle to find buyers who will pay a fair price while preserving their companies and protecting their employees’ livelihoods.”
Solution: Two dynamic, young Black social entrepreneurs who were classmates at Morehouse College — Todd Leverette and Philip Reeves – are utilizing their financial world background to restore the American Dream by helping low- and middle-income employees become owners of their businesses when sellers are ready to retire, ensuring continuity for businesses and stability for workers and communities.
“Apis & Heritage is shifting the paradigm of selling a business so that those who contribute to its success can take the mantle of leadership and ownership. By combining the capital and expertise needed for employee-led buyouts, and focusing on companies in the service sector and ‘real economy,’ it is helping restore economic promise for low- and middle-income workers across the US.
“A&H helps close the wealth gap in the US by converting profitable businesses with diverse, hardworking teams into 100% employee-owned enterprises by financing employee-led buyouts—then partnering with new employee-owners to increase the success of their businesses.
“As a result, the benefits of business ownership go from one owner to many, and from financial investors to workers. Thus, the people who have contributed to these companies’ success are rewarded with a stake in their future growth, which creates an economy in which everyone can thrive.” See the Skoll video.
Hope: “Apis & Heritage has already proven that its innovative model of financing employee-ownership transitions can work. With three million businesses in the US owned by retiring baby boomers, this succession option for owners is needed now more than ever. A&H is organizing a new fund to bring this option to even more companies and hard-working Americans.”
- “Apis & Heritage has already helped 450 workers—most of whom are in low- to moderate-income households—at five companies assume 100% ownership of those businesses
- Employee owners earn and receive increased returns on their labor in the long-term through robust retirement accounts, but also in the near term with higher quality benefits
- Increasing the minimum wage at one company by 33%, introducing paid time off, expanding healthcare coverage, introducing 401k offerings, improving job safety, and adjusting payment practices to meet the needs of employees
- A&H is changing market expectations as A&H’s innovative financing removes critical pain points in the traditional ‘do it yourself’ Employee Stock Ownership Plans for owners
- At all five companies, the sellers did not know at the outset that selling to their employees was a viable option; at the end, all five said they could not imagine doing it any other way.”
Next Week: Part Three of the Skoll World Forum will feature the other three award winners
Excellent to hear about this positive work. It is uplifting!