Last night, over a thousand social innovators gathered in Oxford for the 22nd Skoll Awards during the Skoll World Forum 2025 – a moment of solidarity in a world where funding is shrinking and uncertainty looms. These leaders are tackling the crises that fall through the cracks.

The Skoll Foundation invests in, connects and champions social entrepreneurs and innovators who are developing bold and equitable solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.

With retreating governments and shifting global priorities, as one leader put it, “No one can fill that gap … we must rethink how we deliver impact with what we have.” The challenge isn’t just funding, it’s reimagining systems that are too fragile, too siloed and too vulnerable to geopolitical shifts.

Jeff Skoll, the founder of the Skoll Foundation, has held onto a key motto since the forum began – “Bet on good people doing good things.” That philosophy drives the Skoll Foundation, and after a year-long search of deep, on-the-ground due diligence, five extraordinary organisations have been chosen for the 2025 Skoll Award for Social Innovation – with $2 million awarded in funding.

As comedian Trevor Noah reminded the audience in a conversation with Skoll CEO, Don Gipps: “Imagining is crucial to conflict resolution … It allows us to step outside entrenched positions and conceive of compromises that were previously invisible.”

Here are the winners of the 2025 Skoll Award for Social Innovation

Philip Reeves and Todd Leverette – Founding partners of Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (A&H) 

How can the tools of finance transform capitalism? By rethinking business ownership.

Industry: Finance 

Impact made: Transitioned businesses with a combined value of $65 million to employee ownership

The road ahead: To reimagine capitalism’s power for employees, not just employers

Philip and Todd met at Morehouse College, the alma mater of Civil Rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., whose belief in making a moment a movement reverberates through their entrepreneurship. Friends turned founders, they saw a powerful opportunity in the aging baby boomer generation, the pride of business ownership, and the widening gap between wages and inflation.

Their company, A&H, transforms successful businesses into 100% employee-owned enterprises, providing financing and hands-on support to ensure new owners thrive. With a wave of U.S. business owners preparing to retire, A&H is turning succession into a wealth-building movement. 

As Todd put it, “We are not only reimagining entrepreneurship, we are reimagining capitalism.” By using finance to bridge the divide between employees and employers, they’re reshaping the economy – one business at a time.

Dr. Madeleine Ballard, Executive Director of Community Health Impact Coalition (CHIC) and Margaret Odera, Community Health Worker and Advocate

How do you turn individual efforts into systemic change? By building a global coalition.

Industry: Global Health

Impact made: Championed policies that brought professional recognition and accreditation to community health workers in 47 countries.

The road ahead: To ensure every community health worker is salaried, skilled, supervised, and supplied.

In the most remote corners of the world, where roads don’t reach and phone signals fade, community health workers (CHWs) are the first – and often only – line of care. They save lives. Yet millions remain underpaid, undertrained and overlooked, despite overwhelming evidence of their impact.

CHIC is changing that. By uniting CHWs and health organisations into a powerful coalition, they’ve reshaped global health policy – securing WHO-backed accreditation and national recognition for CHWs in nearly 50 countries. Their work ensures that the billion people who might never see a doctor can still receive quality care, but their key tool is networks of networks to keep it alive. As Dr. Madeleine Ballard puts it, “Think like LEGO – individual small pieces everywhere, but build them together and you have real impact.”

Lonnie Hackett & Ignicious Bulongo, Co-Founders of Healthy Learners

How can schools become the frontline of healthcare? By empowering teachers to close the gap.

Industry: Healthcare

Impact made: Changed 1 million children’s health outcomes across Zambia

The road ahead: To transform 3 million children’s lives over the next 3 years

In Zambia, free healthcare is guaranteed for children under five – but what happens after? Millions of school-aged children fall through the cracks, left without access to critical medical support. Lonnie and Ignicious saw a simple but powerful solution: bring healthcare to where children already are. Their organisation, Healthy Learners, trains teachers as frontline health workers, equipping them to monitor student well-being, provide basic care, and connect schools to the public health system.

With Africa set to be home to 42% of the world’s youth by 2030, the need for scalable, systemic solutions is urgent. As Lonnie says, “We don’t have the luxury of despair.” They are proving that when educators are empowered, communities thrive – and the right intervention at the right time can change the trajectory of a child’s life.

Flávia Pellegrino, Executive Director of Pacto pela Democracia

How do you protect democracy? By building coalitions, fostering trust, and taking action.

Industry: Public Policy & Civil Society

Impact made: Mobilised 200+ civil society organisations to safeguard Brazil’s democratic institutions.

The road ahead: Strengthening resilience against authoritarian threats and disinformation.

Brazil’s democracy is being tested by disinformation and election-related violence. Pacto pela Democracia is fighting back – uniting civil society, business leaders, and journalists to coordinate real-time responses. In 2022, they deployed 80+ actions to protect election integrity.

As Flávia Pellegrino puts it, “Democracy isn’t self-sustaining. It takes constant vigilance and a united front.” By strengthening institutions and mobilising collective action, they are ensuring democracy in Brazil remains strong.

Gayatri Datar, Co-Founder and CEO of EarthEnable