Kenyan humanitarian Umra Omar has put her entrepreneurial spirit and energy into a social enterprise that provides healthcare to marginalized and indigenous communities within the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya. The archipelago is a group of 65 islands over 6,474 square kilometers (around 2,500 square miles) near the northern coast of Kenya. Omar’s organization, Safari Doctors, […]

Gjenge Makers

Nzambi Matee founded Gjenge Makers in Nairobi, Kenya in 2018, initially to sort and sell plastic waste to other recycling companies. Matee quickly realized that, because her enterprise was collecting waste faster than the recycling companies could use it, she needed to change business models, and fast. She pivoted directly to creating value-added products using […]

What has changed the lives of a whole bunch of people? A wild shrub with yellow flowers that grows like a weed in humid tropical areas. The plant, called Tithonia diversifolia, can be used as a fertilizer to increase cereal or vegetable yields. Made into “green manure”, its effects are equivalent to those produced by […]

KickStart image Have you heard of the social enterprise KickStart? It develops affordable technologies for small African businesses. It states its accomplishments in this way: “Since 1991, 160,000 successful new businesses have been started in Africa using our tools. Today more than 800 new businesses are being created each month. Since each of these enterprises supports […]

Truly amazing: hens helping to teach basic agricultural management and entrepreneurial skills, thereby addressing hunger, unemployment and the lack of education and business skills. Here’s how. The Innovation Empowerment Programme and its chief project, One Hen Campaign, was founded in 2009 by 4 Kenyan students from the University of Nairobi who were inspired by their studies […]

“Shining Hope for Communities combats gender inequality and extreme poverty in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, by linking tuition-free schools for girls to accessible social services for all.” That’s how this non-profit organization founded in 2009 describes itself. It operates in the slum where one million people live without roads, electricity, or hospitals. Founder Kennedy Odede […]

Unsung Peace Heroes is a project developed by Butterfly Works and Media Focus on Africa Foundation. It began as a way to “recognize individuals and organizations that participated in peace efforts in the violent aftermath of the December 2007 Kenyan general election.” According to the Unsung Peace Heroes website, the Peace Heroes are ordinary people […]

Karuturi Global is a genuine change agent, committed to sustainability.  Its stated mission is: “To emerge as an integrated agri-products company servicing the world market through unmatched product, cost and quality advantages.” Today Karuturi Global is a large producer of cut roses, with an 8% share of the floriculture market. The company has businesses in Ethiopia, Kenya and India, producing around […]