Andy Thornton 

Skoll Scholar 2011/2012

Andy is a Director of AfriKids, a child rights organisation that operates in northern Ghana with the philosophy: "Listen to what a community knows it needs; Empower them to make the changes themselves; Ensure absolute sustainability."  A member of the AfriKids UK team, Andy is at the forefront of delivering their simple, unique goal; at the request of their Ghanaian partners, AfriKids UK intends to close in 2018.  Thereafter AfriKids Ghana, entirely run by local people, will continue to serve their communities free from dependence on western aid, sustained by the profits of locally run social enterprises in Health, Tourism and Ethical Trade.

Joining AfriKids in 2006 with a background in commercial project management, Andy has played a lead role in the development of all AfriKids’ social enterprises which include a hospital that in 4 years grew from serving 5,000 patients to over 60,000 patients per year, 97% free at the point of delivery.  Other social enterprises include a £1.4 million Eco Lodge that will serve local and international markets whilst providing training opportunities for young people.  In 2010 AfriKids received the Charity Times Award for Social Enterprise of the Year as business operations exceeded £100,000 annual profit in a region where seven in ten people live on less than $2 per day.  All AfriKids’ profits are being reinvested back into social projects taking them towards the goal of closing the UK office in 2018.

To facilitate and drive AfriKids’ complex and diverse work, Andy has developed networks of expert advice and consultancy from varied fields such as medicine, architecture, finance and engineering. He works to merge the best international intellectual support and experience with locally derived and delivered solutions to poverty.  This work has underpinned the formation of a formal partnership with Ghana Health Services and Southampton University Hospitals Trust, and AfriKids’ pioneering work with Architecture for Humanity for the design and construction of the Eco Lodge. 

“I’m thrilled and humbled to be chosen as a Skoll Scholar and am confident that the Oxford MBA will give me the knowledge and skills I need to harness leading-edge business practice to the practical needs and social aspirations of developing world communities.”