Winners & Finalists

2023

Simi Nwogugu

CEO, JA Africa, Nigeria

Get to know the winner

Snehar Shah

CEO of Moringa School, Kenya

Mary Metcalfe

Former policymaker & CEO of Programme to Improve Learning Outcomes (PILO), South Africa

Laura Kakon

Chief Growth & Strategy Officer of Honoris United Universities, Morocco

Martha Muhwezi

Executive Director of FAWE, Uganda

Rogers Patrick Kamugisha

Country Director, Educate!, Rwanda

Sara Ruto

Former Chief Administrative Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Kenya & former CEO of the PAL Network, Kenya

Jean-Claude Nkulikiyimfura

Executive Director at Agahozo Shalom Youth Village, Rwanda

Grace Matlhape

CEO of SmartStart, South Africa

Mary Ashun

Principal of Ghana International School, Ghana

2022

Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng

Vice Chancellor, University of Cape Town

Get to know the winner

Basuti Bolo

Endowed Chair Educational Technologies, Africa University

Cyrille Nkontchou

Founder and Chairman, Enko Education

Felix Malombe

Executive Director and Lead Trainer, STEAMLabs Africa

Folawe Omikunle

Chief Executive Officer, Teach For Nigeria

H.E. Jakaya Kikwete

Former President of Tanzania and Chair of the Board of Directors, Global Partnership for Education

Jide Martin

CEO, Comic Republic

John Mugo

Executive Director, Zizi Afrique Foundation

Musu Bakoto Sawo

National Coordinator and Law Lecturer, Think Young Women

Noella Coursaris Musunka

Founder and CEO, Malaika Foundation

Snehar Shah

CEO of Moringa School, Kenya

Snehar Shah is CEO of Moringa School in Kenya, a learning accelerator committed to closing the skills gap in Africa’s job markets by delivering transformative tech-based learning in Software Engineering, Data Science, Cybersecurity, and Product Design to jobseekers, before connecting them with local and international employers in need of talent. Shah is now scaling the EdTech company across Africa.

Read more about Snehar Shah

Mary Metcalfe

Former policymaker & CEO of Programme to Improve Learning Outcomes (PILO), South Africa

Mary Metcalfe is a South African educationist, activist, and Executive Director of the Programme to Improve Learning Outcomes (PILO), an NGO whose work impacts 3 million learners. Metcalfe is a highly respected leader and a passionate advocate for equal education who has been instrumental in developing South African education policy.

Read more about Mary Metcalfe

Laura Kakon

Chief Growth & Strategy Officer of Honoris United Universities, Morocco

Laura Kakon, from Morocco, is the Chief Growth and Strategy Officer of Honoris United Universities, the first and largest pan-African private higher education network committed to transforming lives through relevant education for lifetime success.

Read more about Laura Kakon

Post de Instagram minimalista sobre decoración - imagen vertical + texto

Martha Muhwezi

Executive Director of FAWE, Uganda

Martha Muhwezi from Uganda is Executive Director of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), a pan-African NGO working in 33 countries to empower girls and women through gender-responsive education.

Read more about Martha Muhwezi

Rogers Patrick Kamugisha

Country Director, Educate!, Rwanda

Rogers Patrick Kamugisha is the Country Director of Educate! in Rwanda, the largest youth skills provider in East Africa. Educate! tackles youth unemployment by partnering with schools and governments to equip young people in Africa with the skills to attain further education, overcome gender inequities, start businesses, get jobs, and drive development in their communities.

Sara Ruto

Former Chief Administrative Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Kenya & former CEO of the PAL Network, Kenya

Sara Ruto is the former Chief Administrative Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Kenya, and former CEO of the PAL Network - a South-South network of organisations in Africa, South Asia and Central America undertaking large-scale, citizen-led assessments and actions to improve foundational literacy and numeracy. Dr Ruto impact’s has been felt across her three decades in academia, civil society and government. Her work on education reform in Kenya saw her awarded the ‘Elder of the Burning Spear’ (EBS) Presidential Award in 2019.

Read more about Sara Ruto

Jean-Claude Nkulikiyimfura

Executive Director at Agahozo Shalom Youth Village, Rwanda

Jean-Claude Nkulikiyimfura is Executive Director of Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) in Rwanda, an organisation that empowers orphaned and vulnerable youth to build lives of dignity and contribute to a better world. Nkulikiyimfura was born a refugee in Burundi. His parents were both orphaned and fled Rwanda in 1961, but taught their children that they would one day return to Rwanda and restore justice and dignity for all. Nkulikiyimfura did exactly that after the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi and began working to fulfil this promise.

Grace Matlhape

CEO of SmartStart, South Africa

Grace Matlhape is CEO of SmartStart in South Africa, a social franchise that seeks to ensure every young child has access to a quality early learning programme in preparation for the opportunities ahead. Matlhape built SmartStart from the ground up into South Africa’s largest network of home-based early learning practitioners with more than 9,000 practitioners and 60,000 children.

Read more about Grace Matlhape

Mary Ashun

Principal of Ghana International School, Ghana

Mary Ashun is Principal of Ghana International School (GIS), an independent not-for-profit school that provides an internationally diverse experience which instils mutual understanding, promotes holistic development, and teaches life skills to produce responsible global citizens.

Read more about Mary Ashun

Basuti Bolo

Endowed Chair Educational Technologies, Africa University

Basuti Bolo serves as Endowed Chair of Educational Technologies at Africa University and is the Founder and CEO of GoToSpace, whose ambitions to empower women and girls reach far beyond Africa and to the stars themselves.

Read more about Basuti Bolo

Cyrille Nkontchou

Founder and Chairman, Enko Education

Cyrille Nkontchou is Founder and Chairman of Enko Education, a fast-growing network of African International schools that provides affordable quality education to African students and opens up access to the world's best universities.

Read more about Cyrille Nkontchou

Felix Malombe

Executive Director and Lead Trainer, STEAMLabs Africa

Felix Malombe is Executive Director of STEAMLabs Africa, in Kenya, which trains students and educators on STEM education, the Sustainable Development Goals, environmental sustainability, and ICT integration in education.

Read more about Felix Malombe

Folawe Omikunle

Chief Executive Officer, Teach For Nigeria

Folawe Omikunle is the Chief Executive Officer of Teach For Nigeria, whose inspirational work has revolutionised the education non-profit sector in Nigeria.

Read more about Folawe Omikunle

Jakaya Kikwete_Headshot_https___www.facebook.com_Jakaya-kikwete-444023086434811_photos_444025803101206

H.E. Jakaya Kikwete

Former President of Tanzania and Chair of the Board of Directors, Global Partnership for Education

H.E. Jakaya Kikwete is the former President of Tanzania, serving from 2005-2015, and Chair of the Global Partnership for Education, the world’s only partnership and fund focused on providing quality education to children in lower-income countries.

Read more about H.E. Jakaya Kikwete

Jide Martin

CEO, Comic Republic

Jide Martin is the Founder and CEO of Comic Republic, in Nigeria, Africa's largest publisher of independent comic books and the continent’s first digital comic book company.

Read more about Jide Martin

John Mugo

Executive Director, Zizi Afrique Foundation

John Mugo is Chief Executive of Zizi Afrique Foundation, in Kenya, a not-for-profit committed to improving learning outcomes for the children and young people who are furthest behind by nurturing skills for learning, living, and working.

Read more about John Mugo

Musu Bakoto Sawo

National Coordinator and Law Lecturer, Think Young Women

Musu Bakoto Sawo is National Coordinator of Think Young Women, a female-led non-profit organisation that aims to inspire and empower young women in Gambia.

Read more about Musu Bakoto Sawo

Noella Coursaris Musunka

Founder and CEO, Malaika Foundation

Noella Coursaris Musunka is Founder and CEO of the Georges Malaika Foundation, a grassroots non-profit that empowers girls and their communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo through a school, community centre, technical classes, wells and an agriculture programme all working together as an ecosystem impacting thousands of lives.