Winners of the 2019 Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship revealed

“These brave entrepreneurs are on the frontlines of solving the world’s most pressing problems,” said Jeff Skoll, founder and chairman of the Skoll Foundation. “Each social entrepreneur may have a distinct approach, but they all share a relentless pursuit of impact and the desire to create a more just world.”

“These leaders have demonstrated how to spark transformative change to improve health, protect vulnerable individuals, and provide new opportunities for young people,” said Richard Fahey, interim president and CEO of the Skoll Foundation. “We are thrilled to welcome these passionate problem solvers into the Skoll community.”

Awardee organisations receive $1.5m 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.

2019 awardees

Crisis Text Line: Nancy Lublin

24/7 mental health support service that reaches underserved demographics and leverages its data to catalyse a more effective, cohesive mental health system.

Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator: Nicola Galombik and Maryana Iskander

Confronts South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis — among the world’s highest — with its innovative job training methodology, business partnerships, and opportunity matching.

mPedigree: Bright Simons and Selorm Branttie

Fights drug and agricultural seed counterfeiting with a product identification marker that consumers use to determine authenticity immediately with a mobile phone.

mPharma: Gregory Rockson

Fixes the broken drug supply chain in Africa to make medicine accessible and affordable by eliminating the inefficiencies and price fluctuations that keep drugs from sick people.

Thorn: Julie Cordua

Thorn defends children from sexual abuse by analysing publicly available classified and forum data with smart algorithms to help law enforcement find child victims.

The 2019 Skoll World Forum will take place 9-12 April.