EarthEnable to receive $2M to further its impact in addressing Africa’s growing housing crisis.
NYAMATA, Rwanda, March 27, 2025 — EarthEnable was named one of five organizations selected to receive the 2025 Skoll Awards for Social Innovation from the Skoll Foundation. The prestigious $2 million award shines a light on extraordinary leaders and organizations advancing transformational social change to create a more sustainable, peaceful, and prosperous world for all.
The 2025 class of social innovators includes social entrepreneurs, movement builders, system orchestrators, and global coalitions driving collective action across issues ranging from community health, climate, sustainable housing, and democratic rule of law to financial prosperity.
EarthEnable and the four other recipients of the Skoll Award for Social Innovation – Apis & Heritage Capital Partners, Community Health Impact Coalition, Healthy Learners, and Pacto pela Democracia) – will each receive $2 million in unrestricted funding to scale their work and increase their impact worldwide.
“We are living in a time of profound upheaval. When crisis strikes, social innovators run toward the problem to step in with solutions that address root causes,” said Don Gips, CEO of the Skoll Foundation. “These leaders show us that the world may be fractured, but repair and lasting progress are possible when we work together across issues, sectors, geographies, and ideologies.”
EarthEnable was honored as a 2025 Skoll Awardee for its work and commitment to help transform the rural housing industry in East Africa through its affordable, healthy, and sustainable housing solutions and innovative earth-based building methods. Africa is facing a growing housing crisis and unprecedented demand – 1.8 billion people currently live in housing that is unhealthy and unsafe, and more than 400 million new homes will be needed by 2050 to meet Africa’s rapid population growth. EarthEnable is addressing this challenge by utilizing healthier and more climate resilient materials, and has expanded its operations from flooring, plasters, paints and sealants to include full housing solutions.
“This award comes at a critical moment for us as Africa faces an urgent need for more affordable, healthier, and climate-resilient housing,” says Gayatri Datar, Co-Founder and CEO, EarthEnable. “Our model is easily scalable and rooted in community, working closely with locally trained masons—all people need to get started is earth. At EarthEnable, we are building a future where safe, sustainable, and beautiful housing is within everyone’s reach.”
Across the globe, more than 1.6 billion people live on dirt floors, which can cause significant health issues. EarthEnable is catalyzing a green housing industry in Africa by working with local entrepreneurs and masons to develop and install earthen floors, which are 70% more affordable and emit 96% less carbon than concrete. Moreover, these sealed, earthen floors create healthier and more sanitary living conditions, reducing illnesses and infections. EarthEnable has already benefited and improved the lives of over 200,000 people while creating over 1,000 local jobs.
“As global challenges multiply, the 2025 Skoll Awardees continue to meet the moment with determination, innovation, and optimism for our collective future,” said Marla Blow, president and COO of the Skoll Foundation. “Whether it’s resourcing community health workers worldwide to enable lifesaving care, safeguarding the democratic rule of law, generating wealth through employee ownership, making sustainable and healthy homes accessible to all, or structuring school systems to keep students healthy—these social innovators are transforming our world.”
EarthEnable was presented with the award and spotlighted at the 2025 Skoll Awards for Social Innovation Ceremony on Thursday, April 3, 2025, during the 22nd Skoll World Forum.
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About EarthEnable
EarthEnable improves the health and living conditions of rural African families and reduces the housing industry’s carbon footprint by working with community-based entrepreneurs and local masons to develop and install more affordable, sustainable housing materials. Catalyzing a green housing industry in Africa, EarthEnable is working to position the continent to advance a sustainable building sector. To date, more than 200,000 people across Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda have benefited from EarthEnable’s innovative approach to affordable and sustainable flooring, which has created or improved more than 1,000 jobs in eastern Africa. EarthEnable aims to help fulfill housing needs for 700,000 people by 2027. For more information, please visit https://earthenable.org.
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