Contributors & Participants

Alina Tokmylenko

Alina Tokmylenko works in the field of social innovation and civic development in Ukraine. She works with The Possible in Ukraine, where she leads the piloting of Social Impact Bonds in Ukraine. Her work focuses on developing new approaches to social impact and working directly with people and communities.

Carly Wickham

Carly Wickham is the Chief Executive Officer of EdelGive with SIX, where she leads the organisation’s mission to build a global ecosystem for social innovation. With many years working across innovation ecosystems, Carly brings experience in building partnerships, designing programs at scale, and stewarding transformation.

Keni Kariuki

As Co-founder and Director of Impact Hub Nairobi, Keni Kariuki has helped build a launchpad for early-stage entrepreneurs, offering funding, incubation and partnerships. A legal and policy expert in agricultural governance, Keni completed doctoral research at SOAS on Kenya's agricultural policy and has worked with organisations including the World Bank and UNIDROIT.

Michael Ngigi

Michael Ngigi is a Kenyan business leader, entrepreneur, and innovation practitioner with over 20 years of experience working across strategy, design, entrepreneurship, and social impact in Africa. He is the Managing Partner at ThinkPlace Africa.

Vijaya Balaji

Vijaya Balaji is Principal Founding Partner of Social Lens Consulting and Managing Director of Toolbox India. She works with funders and social purpose organisations on capacity strengthening, organisation development and impact measurement, and is exploring how AI can make capacity-building support more accessible.

Dr Zipporah Muiruri

Based in Nairobi, Dr Zipporah Muiruri coordinates the MBA in Social Entrepreneurship & Sustainability and the MA in Social Transformation at Tangaza University's Institute for Social Transformation. A management consultant for over a decade, she supports public and private organisations with strategy, performance and capacity building, and is a Non-Executive Director of Wald Energy.

Clara Dawe

Based in Copenhagen, Clara Dawe leads the secretariat of Denmark's Social Innovation Academy, a community of leaders from civil society, business, foundations and the public sector working together on society's biggest challenges. She is co-author of Kollektiv handlekraft, a book exploring how social innovation can drive change in Denmark.

Vincent Odhiambo

Based in Nairobi, Vincent Odhiambo is Regional Director of Ashoka East Africa, where he leads the search for and support of social entrepreneurs driving systems change across the region. He joined Ashoka in 2014 and chairs the board of Lightup Impact, a movement of young grassroots leaders across East Africa.

Philip Kairu

Philip Kairu works with Close the Gap Kenya, a social enterprise that gives computers a second life. Alongside providing affordable refurbished IT to schools, NGOs and small businesses, Close the Gap runs hubs where a makerspace and incubation programme help young local entrepreneurs grow their ventures.

So Jung Rim

Part of the SIX team since 2013, So Jung Rim is Chief Operating Officer of EdelGive/SIX, based in London. She has curated SIX's flagship gatherings, including previous Wayfinders, and built social innovation networks across Asia and Latin America. She previously worked at the Young Foundation in London and the Hope Institute in Seoul.

Peter Ramsden

An urbanist and social innovator, Peter Ramsden has spent decades helping European cities learn from one another. He chairs LDnet, the Local Development Network, and has advised the EU's Urban Innovative Actions and URBACT programmes. He is a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences.

Kate Philip

Employment creation is the thread running through Kate Philip's career, which has focused on unemployment, inequality and economic marginalisation in South Africa. She is Programme Lead for the Presidential Employment Stimulus, supporting the Presidency on a programme that has supported over a million jobs and livelihoods. Kate also initiated South Africa's Community Work Programme.

Rohit Kumar

Rohit Kumar is representing EdelGive Foundation in Mumbai. EdelGive, one of the partners behind EdelGive/SIX, funds and supports grassroots NGOs across India through long-term, trust-based philanthropy. Rohit works closely with the leadership team on the Foundation's strategy and operations.

Fridah Keitany

A Certified Public Accountant and entrepreneur, Fridah Keitany founded NB Consultancy, a Nairobi-based firm helping startups, SMEs and mission-driven organisations strengthen their finances and grow. She mentors entrepreneurs with the Tony Elumelu Foundation and is particularly passionate about supporting women and young people to build businesses that serve, sustain and scale.

Cynthiah Gicheru

Cynthiah Gicheru coaches social innovators across Africa to design, test and scale community-led solutions, as Regional Coordinator for Africa on RIL Argentina's Local Innovators Program. She has worked with 20 teams across nine African countries. Next, she hopes to turn at-home beauty services into a pathway for overlooked stylists to earn with dignity and build independent futures.

Cabzeel Kuria

Pencil artist and entrepreneur Cabzeel Kuria is the founder of Cabzeel Arts, which uses detailed graphite artwork to tell stories and spark conversation. Alongside personal commissions, Cabzeel Arts runs social impact projects, including mental health awareness for young people, and uses art to engage and empower working-class and underserved communities.

Hawa Evakali

Having experienced a mindset shift herself, Hawa Evakali wants young people to see the problems around them and believe they have the power to solve them. She supports students at Tangaza University's Social Innovation Sandbox to develop ventures that tackle social challenges while generating income, and founded Tyfer Enterprise, which recycles old tyres into furniture.

Khadijah Ibrahim

Based in Nairobi, Khadijah Ibrahim has worked as a Protection Monitor with the Refugee Consortium of Kenya in Eastleigh, safeguarding refugees' rights and leading youth forums on peacebuilding and social cohesion. Trained in peace leadership and mediation, she wants to help communities turn lived challenges into solutions that people shape, own and care for.

Rupert Corbishley

Based in Nairobi, Rupert Corbishley is Education Advisor for Africa at the Aga Khan Foundation, where he leads the strategic direction of its education and early childhood development programmes in East Africa. He has been with the Foundation for over 14 years, including nearly five in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Juliana Kiio

A gender and social inclusion specialist with over 15 years in development, Juliana Kiio is Executive Director of the Democracy Trust Fund in Nairobi, which works to increase women's representation in leadership across Kenya. She previously led the Women Leadership, Political Participation and Governance Centre at Echo Network Africa Foundation.

Josephine Muhuko

Driven by a belief that mental health care should be a given for everyone, Josephine Muhuko is a Kenya-based entrepreneur. She founded Faraja Hostels, offering students safe, affordable housing with a strong sense of community, and the lifestyle brand Joy & Co. She is also Board Secretary of Lengo Moja Initiative, which supports entrepreneurs in low-income communities.

Nancy Kimani

Building a greener future through farming, Nancy Kimani is CEO of Nesal Harvest Ventures in Kenya. Her work focuses on helping women and young farmers move from subsistence farming with recycled seed to profitable farming, with certified seeds, training and support delivered to their door.

Ruth Soi

Ruth Soi believes lasting change begins with people. Over seven years at Ashoka East Africa, she has designed learning and leadership programmes for fellows, social entrepreneurs and young changemakers, and is currently Youth Years Manager. Ruth holds a Master's in Clinical Psychology and founded Soi Afrika, an art-for-wellbeing practice.

Markus Lux

Markus Lux has been at the Robert Bosch Stiftung in Stuttgart since 2002. He is currently Vice President Special Division Ukraine. He is Chair of the Board of Social Innovation Exchange and a member of various Advisory Boards and Steering Committees.

Ruth Davison

Ruth Davison has spent over 20 years leading philanthropic and charitable organisations, including as CEO of both frontline and grant-making charities. Now a Senior Consultant at C&E Advisory, she supports social innovators, investors and leaders to scale solutions to global challenges. She sits on the boards of UKCEH and the National Emergencies Trust.

Sir Geoff Mulgan

Sir Geoff Mulgan is Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at UCL and a co-founder of TIAL, the Institutional Architecture Lab. He was previously Chief Executive of Nesta and head of policy in the UK Prime Minister's office. Geoff has helped found many organisations, including the Social Innovation Exchange (SIX).

Oliver Muchiri

Oliver Muchiri is fascinated by how to design well with people, in all their complexity. As Managing Director of ThinkPlace Africa, he leads the firm's work across the public, private and development sectors, using design to tackle complex challenges. He also co-founded the School Painting Drive, which co-paints classrooms with children from underprivileged backgrounds.

Felix Saro-Wiwa

A London-based Associate at EdelGive/SIX, Felix Saro-Wiwa joined through the OnPurpose leadership programme, having previously been an Associate at Reboot the Future. Before that, he was one of the founders of ARC Ride in Nairobi, a company building a network of battery-swap stations for electric motorcycle taxis in Kenya.

Aunde Aga Godwin

Believing every young life carries dignity and potential, Aunde Aga Godwin founded and leads Vox Humanitas Africa in Nairobi. The organisation supports at-risk and underserved youth through addiction prevention, psychosocial support, mentorship and life skills, working with schools, families and communities. Aunde brings over a decade of community and pastoral work, and speaks five languages.

Dennis Ndun’gu

Dennis Ndun’gu is Community & Ecosystem Lead at Impact Hub Nairobi, where he builds partnerships and programmes that connect entrepreneurs with capital, networks and markets across Africa. Alongside this, he scouts agtech innovation for The FutureList and runs his own farm, Integrated Gardens, in Juja.

Mercy Gathoni

Mercy Gathoni is Project Officer for Social Entrepreneurship and Programmes at the Comboni Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship in Nairobi. The Alliance helps young people turn local social problems into sustainable enterprises. Mercy leads its capacity-building work and previously supported a micro-lending programme with Alliance for African Assistance.

Thadius Olum

Thadius Olum has volunteered as programmes lead at Zwara Arts & Theatre Society in Nairobi since 2020, tackling issues such as mental health, gender-based violence and substance abuse. Thadius now develops wellness training at Wellness Wanderers Consultants, and previously led leadership programmes for adolescent girls with Nice Place Foundation.