Sustainable development on the African continent is being driven not by theoretical frameworks, but by individuals who are building, funding, and scaling solutions that improve daily life. The five entrepreneurs highlighted here combine technical ingenuity with a deep understanding of local realities, delivering practical, scalable, and community-rooted solutions for energy, water, healthcare, and the circular economy.
Strive Masiyiwa — Distributed Power Africa / Econet
Strive Masiyiwa is one of Africa’s most prominent business leaders and philanthropists. In addition to founding Econet and Cassava Technologies, he has placed significant emphasis on renewable energy through Distributed Power Africa (DPA), a Cassava Group company. DPA develops and finances solar projects and commercial renewable solutions across multiple countries, including Zimbabwe, Kenya, and South Africa. These initiatives aim to reduce operational costs for businesses, decrease their reliance on diesel generators, and accelerate the continent’s shift to cleaner power.
As a part of a publicly listed company group, DPA’s funding is tied to its parent company, Cassava Technologies. Cassava has successfully raised significant capital to fuel its growth, including a $50 million investment from C5 Capital to advance its digital infrastructure strategy. This strategic funding supports the expansion of DPA’s renewable energy projects, which are a cornerstone of Cassava’s vision to power a connected Africa.
Beth Koigi — Majik Water
Beth Koigi founded Majik Water to tackle water scarcity with an innovative technology: atmospheric water generation. This process extracts potable water from ambient humidity using low-energy hardware, which is often solar-powered. Her social-enterprise model is designed for arid and off-grid regions, pairing the technology with local distribution and community training. This decentralized approach to water supply has earned Majik Water international recognition for its practicality and potential impact.Majik Water has received several grants and awards that have provided crucial non-dilutive funding, including a grant from the Keeling Curve Prize and recognition from the Solar Impulse Foundation. These accolades highlight the company’s strong environmental and social impact and have helped to scale its operations.
Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola — Wecyclers
Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola is a Nigerian entrepreneur who founded Wecyclers to tackle Nigeria’s waste management crisis. After completing her master’s degree at MIT, she returned to Lagos with a solution that combines environmental sustainability with social impact. Wecyclers uses a fleet of low-cost cargo tricycles (“wecycles”) to collect recyclable waste directly from households in low-income communities. In exchange for their waste, residents earn points that they can redeem for goods like food, airtime, and household products. This creates a powerful incentive for recycling and helps to formalize the waste collection process.
Wecyclers has been a popular and successful venture, attracting several key investments and partnerships. The company has received significant funding from various sources, including an investment from the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and support from the Tony Elumelu Foundation. In 2017, Wecyclers was awarded a $1 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and was also a winner of the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards. This funding has been crucial in scaling Wecyclers’ operations and expanding its network of waste collectors and recycling hubs across Lagos.
The work of these entrepreneurs, while varied in technology and scope, shares a clear logic: identify a fundamental service gap, design an appropriate and maintainable technology, involve local communities in delivery and maintenance, and build a financially sustainable model around a core impact.
