MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Skoll Foundation Awards Microfinance Institution Fundación Capital of Colombia, 6 Others $1.25m Each for Social Entrepreneurship

The Skoll Foundation, an organization that seeks to promote sustainability, peace and prosperity in the developing world by investing in social enterprises, recently honored seven organizations with the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, which is given to social enterprises to fund business initiatives deemed innovative.Each of the organizations received a donation of USD 1.25 million, which will be paid over three years with the goal of helping the organizations grow their operations. The awards were presented at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School during the 2014 Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship.

Recipients of the 2014 awards include US-based B Lab for its work to establish Benefit Corporations, a form of corporate entity that exists in some US states and is intended to support the legislation of societal and financial benefits; Fundación Capital of Colombia for its work in inclusive finance; Girls Not Brides of the United Kingdom for its efforts to end child marriage; Global Witness of the United Kingdom for investigating and exposing corruption and other illicit money flows in resource-rich countries; Medic Mobile of the US for its efforts to improve health in 20 countries using communication technology; Slum Dwellers International of South Africa for improving living conditions in slums around the world; and Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor of the United Kingdom for improving access to clean water and sanitation for 2 million people in urban slums via a commercially viable business model[1].

By Alíz Crowley, Research Associate

About the Skoll Foundation

The Skoll Foundation was established in 1999 with the aim of supporting peace and prosperity around the world by investing in “social enterprises.” The foundation defines social entrepreneurs as “society’s change agents, creators of innovations that disrupt the status quo and transform our world for the better”[2]. Through May 2014, Skoll Foundation has invested approximately USD 413 million in 108 social enterprises and 87 other organizations globally. In the financial year 2012, the foundation disbursed approximately USD 1 million as grants. The foundation also organizes the annual Skoll World Forum, an international conference on social entrepreneurship, and hosts a year-round online platform focusing on innovation and social entrepreneurship, including but not limited to deforestation, education, economic opportunity and healthcare access.

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] Skoll World Forum, “Meet The Awardees,” 2014, http://skollworldforum.org/forum-2014/meet-awardees/

[2] Skoll Foundation website, http://www.skollfoundation.org/about/

MicroCapital, April 24, 2014, “Seven International Lending Institutions Launch Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF),” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-seven-international-lending-institutions-launch-council-on-smallholder-agricultural-finance-csaf/

MicroCapital, March 6, 2012, “Benefit Corporation Type Allows Companies to Balance Societal Benefit, Profits”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-benefit-corporation-type-allows-companies-to-balance-societal-benefit-profits/

MicroCapital, March 10, 2011, “Saïd Business School of Oxford University to Hold Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, March 30 – April 1, 2011, Oxford, England,” https://www.microcapital.org/microfinance-event-said-business-school-of-oxford-university-to-hold-skoll-world-forum-on-social-entrepreneurship-march-30-%E2%80%93-april-1-2011-oxford-england/

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Skoll Foundation https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=skoll+foundation

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