In a powerful testament to African innovation and resilience, five leaders from across the continent have been recognised with the 2026 Schwab Foundation Awards, announced at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. The 2026 Schwab Foundation Awards highlight Africa’s growing role in shaping global narratives of social innovation.

The 2026 Schwab Foundation Awards place these African leaders within a global community of 510 social innovators whose work has reached more than 950 million people across 190 countries. At a time when social innovators raised nearly $970 million despite shrinking resources, the 2026 Schwab Foundation Awards underline the scale and urgency of their impact.

From emergency healthcare and menstrual dignity to corporate sustainability, environmental cooperation, and inclusive public policy, the 2026 Schwab Foundation Awards showcase Africa’s leadership in systems-level change. This year’s honorees demonstrate that African innovation is not episodic, but deeply rooted and continuously evolving.

Social Entrepreneurs

Kibret Abebe | Ethiopia

Credits: Schwab Foundation

Among the 2026 Schwab Foundation Awards recipients, Kibret Abebe stands out for transforming emergency healthcare in Ethiopia. He is the founder of Tebita Ambulance, the country’s first private pre-hospital emergency medical services company, launched in 2008 after witnessing preventable deaths caused by the absence of organised emergency response systems.

The 2026 Schwab Foundation Awards recognise Tebita’s scale and impact, with over 60,000 emergency calls responded to and the widely known four-digit emergency number 8035 providing 24/7 services across Addis Ababa.

Through training programmes and regional expansion, Abebe’s work reflects how social entrepreneurship can build life-saving public systems.

Olivia Onyemaobi | Nigeria

Another standout of the 2026 Schwab Foundation Awards is Olivia Onyemaobi, founder and CEO of Pad-Up Creations Limited. Her work addresses period poverty while advancing women’s economic empowerment through the development of Nigeria’s first certified washable and reusable sanitary pads.

Pad-Up has distributed over 8.7 million sanitary pads across 21 countries, created 541 direct jobs, and trained more than 538,000 girls and women.

Onyemaobi’s model shows how dignity, sustainability, and livelihoods can be advanced simultaneously.

Corporate Social Innovator

Karen Basiye | Safaricom PLC, Kenya

Credit: Safaricomfoundation.org

The 2026 Schwab Foundation Awards also spotlight corporate leadership through Karen Basiye, who leads sustainability at Safaricom PLC. With over 15 years of experience, she has embedded shared value, climate action, and governance into one of Africa’s most influential companies.

Under the lens of the 2026 Schwab Foundation Awards, Safaricom’s impact is amplified by its scale, serving over 29 million subscribers and employing more than 500,000 people directly and indirectly.

Platforms like M-PESA created by Safaricom, alongside MTN MoMo and Orange Money, have redefined transactions in Africa, enabling diaspora giving and strengthening African-led philanthropy.

Collective Social Innovators

Ghada Ahmadein and RAED | Egypt / Regional

Credits: IUCN World Conservation Congress

The 2026 Schwab Foundation Awards also recognise collective power through Ghada Ahmadein and the Arab Network for Environment and Development (RAED). With more than three decades of experience, Ahmadein has helped position civil society as a central actor in environmental governance across Africa and West Asia.

Founded in 1990, RAED’s work as highlighted by the 2026 Schwab Foundation Awards, spans capacity-building, policy advocacy, and regional cooperation. Its official observer status with the League of Arab States allows grassroots voices to inform regional and global environmental decision-making.

Public Social Innovator

Mamadou Ndiaye | Senegal

Credit: SchwabFoundation

Public sector leadership is also celebrated at the Schwab Foundation Awards through Mamadou Ndiaye, Director of Cabinet at Senegal’s Ministry of Microfinance and Social and Solidarity Economy.

Mamadou Ndiaye’s work has expanded inclusive finance for youth and women while strengthening cooperatives and social enterprises.

Through the 2026 Schwab Foundation Awards, Ndiaye’s continental impact is recognised, including his role in negotiating an Africa-wide Social and Solidarity Economy framework and establishing an African SSE Observatory.

His work in Senegal shows how policy can unlock grassroots innovation at scale.

Conclusion

Taken together, the 2026 Schwab Foundation Awards affirm that Africa is not waiting for solutions, but actively building them. Across entrepreneurship, corporate leadership, civil society, and public policy, these awardees are redefining what durable, African-led impact looks like.

As the Foundation Awards make clear, Africa’s changemakers are shaping global conversations on innovation, resilience, and inclusion. Philanthropy Circuit remains committed to amplifying the data, stories, and voices behind this momentum.

Follow Philanthropy Circuit for insight on the leaders and ideas shaping Africa’s philanthropic and social innovation future.