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Our new Skoll Scholars have arrived, as they set out to build a better world

Published

Five inspiring Skoll Scholars will be joining Saïd Business School's MBA class of 2023-24.

The Skoll Scholarship is a fully-funded scholarship for the Oxford MBA at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, provided by the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and the Skoll Foundation. This is the 20th cohort to be selected, marking the longstanding and impactful partnership between the Skoll Foundation and Oxford Saïd. In addition to financial support, the Scholars will join a growing alumni community of over 90 entrepreneurial leaders who are accelerating social impact within and beyond business, as well as opportunities to learn from, support, and engage with academics and practitioners in the Skoll Centre community.

We have been equipping entrepreneurial leaders for social impact for two decades, and Skoll Scholars are at the heart of our community. We are thrilled to welcome Diana, Julian, Echika, Hudson and Simeen to the Skoll community.

Dr Peter Drobac

Director of the Skoll Centre

Diana Chao

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Diana Chao is a Buyi Chinese-American immigrant who founded Letters to Strangers (L2S) in high school after bipolar disorder and a blinding eye disease nearly ended her life. Today, Letters to Strangers is the largest global youth-for-youth mental health non-profit, directly impacting over 35,000 people every year.

'I spent most of my life believing that pursuing social impact means sacrifice, and in many ways that is still true. But it is also something that you do not have to shoulder alone, and I chose Oxford and am thrilled to join the Skoll Scholar community precisely because we share the same values - we want to build a better world, and we know that to do so will take every one of us - together.'

Find out more about Diana's work

Julian Gerhart

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Julian is a co-founder of Zmudri.sk, an online platform with free entertaining video courses about topics that prepare students for adulthood, such as financial literacy, job search, digital security, critical thinking and many more.

'The Oxford MBA and Skoll Scholarship are amazing opportunities to meet incredibly inspirational people from all corners of the world who are constantly working on solving pressing social issues. I cannot wait to be a part of this unique community and to learn from it on an daily basis.'

Find out more about Julian's work

Echika Obijiaku

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Echika Obijiaku is the Founder and CEO of Mwanga and Yapha Academy, leveraging technology to drive responsible use of credit via ethical collections, credit education, intelligent debt management and access to economic opportunities. She aims to support over ten million Africans to have a healthier relationship with credit by 2030.

'To achieve my goals, I needed to join a network of like-minded social impact-focused change makers who could be collaborators, resource channels, and knowledge portals. The Saïd Business School was my first and only choice for an MBA because of its rich curriculum, experienced faculty, and impactful communities like the Skoll Centre.'

Find out more about Echika's work

Hudson Baird

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Hudson has spent his career in economic mobility, most recently as co-founder of PelotonU - a nonprofit focused on degree attainment for working adults. His team built a model that supported over 4,000 students while providing a 5x improvement on graduation rates.

'Pursuing a degree from Oxford has been a dream since I was sixteen, and as I have come to know the incredible work of the Skoll Community and opportunities afforded by an MBA from Saïd Business School, my conviction has only grown that it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from a community of like-minded social entrepreneurs and build the expertise to continue building pathways of economic mobility.'

Find out more about Hudson's work

Simeen Kaleem

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Simeen is the Co-founder and COO at Gramhal, a social impact organisation that aims to democratise data for farmers. Gramhal works with more than a quarter million farmers. Beyond Gramhal, Simeen is a strong advocate of carving spaces for women's leadership.

'One important lesson I have learned over the last decade is that only systemic solutions can solve problems like rural poverty, which affects over a billion people. Therefore, over the coming year at Oxford, I am excited about pivoting myself from being a social entrepreneur to a systems entrepreneur. And there is no better place than the Skoll community to take this leadership transition journey.'

Find out more about Simeen's work

The Skoll Scholarship provides funding for entrepreneurs who have set up or have been working in entrepreneurial initiatives with a social purpose or who have pursued an impact career, and who wish to improve their knowledge of market-oriented practices so they can be more effective in their subsequent social change pursuits. Applications for the Skoll Scholarship (2024/2025) will open on Tuesday 1 August 2023.

About us

The most sustainable, innovative, and impactful social change is informed by theory and practice. The Skoll Centre bring researchers and practitioners together to generate insights on how to lead, organise, finance, measure and scale impact. We incorporate these insights into learning programmes for entrepreneurial leaders at Oxford and worldwide, equipping them with the skills to catalyse social impact within and beyond business. Find out more about our work.