During an unusually sunny week in Oxford, the prestigious Said Business School hosted the 13th Skoll World Forum. Organized by Skoll Foundation, a Palo Alto-based private entity, the Forum spotlights the Foundation’s mission to explore and advance large-scale positive social change through pioneering approaches to entrepreneurship.

The Foundation maintains an educational hub, it’s Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University, the site of its annual Forum. Founded by eBay’s first employee and president, Jeff Skoll, the Skoll initiatives help connect social entrepreneurs, funders and partners working in media, the corporate world, governments and the third sector.

Skoll’s Emerging Leaders Initiative in association with Master Card Foundation, awardees and participants at its 4-7 April 2017 Forum “Fault Lines: Creating Common Ground”, including a significant number from global south countries, tackled challenges ranging from poverty alleviation to data models. In anticipation of this high-power annual Forum, Skoll partners with other significant entities including TED, Aspen Institute, and the African Leadership.

“You only need so much for you and your family.” Jeff Skoll

The annual World Forum highlights significant contributions by renowned figures who engage in imaginative ways to channel resources to world-embracing challenges. Among others this year, Skoll recognized U2 singer, Bono, with its Skoll Global Treasure Award. In addition to ONE and Red which have helped raise millions to help those most in need, Bono has helped establish Rise, the largest social impact fund involving notable innovators turned social investors, including part-Iranian billionaire, Pierre Omidyar.

“Corruption lives in the region between declared amounts of money and the real amounts of money that are paid.” Bono (U2)

Social impact funds result in a range of success rates. The key challenge in increasing chances of success is that positive social change must be measurable. This is particularly crucial at this time of great economic shifts. After all, if financial gain and doing good can go hand in hand, then the tottering world of finance may have found the panacea it needs to survive the tsunami of economic challenges that threaten its system at an unprecedented scale.