FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Skoll Foundation Funds Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University

SAN JOSE, Calif. (November 24, 2003) - The Skoll Foundation, based in Silicon Valley and dedicated to the advancement and celebration of social entrepreneurship, today announced the launch of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School, Oxford University. The Saïd Business School will establish a new master's of business administration (MBA) curriculum to promote the advancement of social entrepreneurship worldwide, using a Skoll Foundation grant in excess of
$7.5 million. This funding is the largest ever received by a business school specifically for an international program in social entrepreneurship.

Just as entrepreneurs have changed the face of business, social entrepreneurs act as the change agents for society, seizing opportunities others miss and improving systems, inventing new approaches and creating sustainable solutions to change society for the better. The creation of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship takes social entrepreneurship to a new level, with an education program dedicated to training tomorrow's leaders in using entrepreneurial approaches to address social problems.

"Social entrepreneurship applies the principles of business entrepreneurship to societal problems. As both an advocate and a practitioner of social entrepreneurship, the Skoll Foundation is helping advance social change to benefit communities around the world," said Jeff Skoll, founder and chairman of the Skoll Foundation. "Supporting Oxford's Saïd Business School enables the creation of a new international education program that teaches the concepts of social entrepreneurship. We selected Saïd because it is a leading entrepreneur-focused academic institution that trains students from around the world."

The creation of the Skoll Centre reflects a growing trend by business educators to incorporate social entrepreneurship into their core curricula. MBA programs throughout the United States have added courses on social enterprise, and a few have even created social enterprise research and education centers. The Skoll Centre is unique in that it offers a comprehensive program allowing students to concentrate their MBA studies on social entrepreneurship, promotes research in the field on a global scale, and provides an international academic forum to debate and further the social entrepreneurship agenda.

With the grant provided by the Skoll Foundation, the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship will fund five MBA scholarships annually for Skoll Scholars who will focus their studies on how to apply entrepreneurial strategies to effect sustainable social change. Skoll Scholars will develop a plan to positively impact a specific social problem and undertake a consultancy project in social entrepreneurship. The Skoll Foundation grant also will fund research projects, a lectureship and a director for the new center.

"The launch of the Skoll Centre comes at a time when there is an increasing need for entrepreneurial approaches to social problems," noted Anthony Hopwood, the Peter Moores Dean of the Saïd Business School. "Social entrepreneurs are necessary for developing new models for a new century, and the Saïd Business School is delighted to lead this new initiative. With our global orientation and 70 percent of our students from outside Western Europe, we are in the best position of any business school to educate worldwide leaders who will positively impact social issues."

The Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship also will usher in the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship in 2004. As part of the Skoll Foundation's mission to not only invest in social entrepreneurs, but also to help them connect and celebrate their achievements, the World Forum will bring together social visionaries from around the globe to exchange both practical and philosophical ideas.

"This launch of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship marks a major step forward in the Skoll Foundation's mission to promote positive social change and provide a world forum to advance social entrepreneurship knowledge and practice," said Sally Osberg, president and CEO of the Skoll Foundation. "With the help of the Saïd Business School, we will be able to further our goals of investing in social entrepreneurship, helping entrepreneurs connect with one another to exchange ideas, and celebrating their triumphs. Partnering with a global institution such as Oxford helps bring international awareness of the need for social entrepreneurship, underscoring the need to promote social change to benefit all mankind."

About the Skoll Foundation
Headquartered in California's Silicon Valley, the Skoll Foundation was created in 1999 by Jeff Skoll, the first employee and first president of eBay. Its mission is to advance systemic change to benefit communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs. The Skoll Foundation invests in social entrepreneurs through three award programs and the new Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. It connects social entrepreneurs through its online community, Social Edge, at www.socialedge.org. It celebrates social entrepreneurs through media projects such as a four-part public television documentary, scheduled to be broadcast in late 2004; and via the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, which will be held at the Skoll Centre in spring 2004. For more information, see www.skollfoundation.org.

About Saïd Business School
Saïd Business School is an integral part of Oxford University and provides a range of business education programs including the one-year MBA and the new Executive MBA starting January 2004. In addition, the School offers research degrees including a Doctoral Program and the Master's of Science (MSc) in Management Research. The School has an established reputation for research in a wide range of areas, including finance and accounting, organizational analysis, international management and strategy, operations management and the management of science and technology. Intellectually rigorous, it addresses issues that are of a direct concern to businesses and policy-makers. The School's aim through its research activities is to have a decisive influence on current management practice. http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/html/faculty_skoll_main.asp

Contact:
Terry Nagel - Skoll Foundation
media@skollfoundation.org

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