Born in Ghana but forced to flee the country with his family at the age of four as a result of a military coup, Fred Swaniker spent his formative years across various African countries including Ghana, Gambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
He developed a deep love for the continent, and got a firsthand view of the disparities in the levels of development of each of the countries he grew up in.
Fred realised that the countries performing best were thriving under good leaders and robust systems.
Inspired by the events of his early years, Fred has dedicated his life to playing a part in developing those leaders and systems across Africa and the world through his venture Sand Tech.
A celebrated entrepreneur and thought-leader, Fred was recognized as one of TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2019.
Driven by the desire to provide dignified employment and fair wages to marginalised communities through innovative recycling initiatives, Keiran Smith co-founded Mr. Green Africa.
With Mr. Green Africa, Keiran has established the first recycling network of its kind in Africa that formalises and empowers informal waste collectors.
He continuously advocates for effective plastic waste reduction to build an inclusive, circular economy.
Wendy Gonzalez is on a mission to prove that a social business can be economically viable.
Throughout her career, she has strived to use technology to move business forward, but as her career progressed, Wendy began to wonder how she could also impact communities through her work. She found the answer in the start-up Sama, where she now serves as CEO.
Wendy believes that when women and youth, the kind of people Sama empowers, succeed, whole communities succeed. And she loves driving positive impact every day.
As a conservationist, the thought of waste being openly burnt thus emitting harmful gasses into the environment, did not sit right with Daniel.
His company, TakaTaka Solutions, has grown to be the largest recycling company in Kenya, collecting, sorting, composting and recycling waste.
When Davis is not tackling the waste crisis, he can be found on the soccer field or spending time with his family.
Kidus Asfaw, CEO and Co-founder of Kubik, is on a mission to build clean and affordable living for all by converting plastic waste into affordable, eco-friendly construction materials.
It took two years of hard work for Kidus and his team to make the first brick, but seeing the first factory open in 2023 fulfilled the initial inspiration he had when starting Kubik: to clean up plastic waste while making schools more affordable and transforming the lives of women waste collectors.
Kidus' endeavors were recognized by the Times in 2023, when he was recognized on the TIME 100 Climate Leaders list.
Emile Fourie is the co-founder and Managing Director of Ywaste, which strives to restore balance with nature by returning the nutrients from organic food waste to the soil.
Emile was inspired to start his company because he saw an opportunity to improve a broken waste management system while also improving the quality of life for marginalised South Africans.
He loves every part of entrepreneurship and is happy to share his knowledge and learnings through mentoring future social entrepreneurs. Emile is also not afraid to think big, and he strives for Ywaste to expand from South Africa to being the leading organic waste management company on the continent.