The newest Fellows work in 21 countries, and is one of the largest and most geographically diverse cohorts within the organization’s history.

Each Fellow will receive $80,000 in unrestricted funding during the 18-month Fellowship, one element of a multi-faceted support model that includes capital, capacity, and community support.

Fellows will also join a lifelong community of innovative thinkers, strategic partners, and industry peers. The 2024 Fellows were selected through Echoing Green’s open call application and participatory grantmaking process, with 2,100 applications received for this cohort.

“From the planet’s hottest year yet, to ongoing global threats to democracy, to backsliding on hard-fought progress on racial equity — these are challenging times. We need bold solutions now for these and other significant challenges. These new Fellows are meeting this moment with a level of brilliance, care, and passion that gives me renewed hope for our collective future,” said Echoing Green President Cheryl L. Dorsey.

“When I look at the transformative work that they’ve launched across 21 countries, I am excited about the opportunities before them and the possibilities of what they can achieve for their communities and for the world,” Dorsey added.

The 2024 Echoing Green Fellows are: 

• Abubakar Idris, Tech for Inclusion (Nigeria)
• Akonkwa Mubagwa, Winko Solar (Africa)
• Ali Kigongo, Global Asylum Seeker Human Rights Defenders Committee (Germany)
• Amisa Rashid, Nivishe Foundation (Kenya)
• Ashley Williams, Clymb (United States)
• Ashu Martha Agbornyenty, For Mom and Baby Foundation (Cameroon)
• Barnabas Nomo, Goliath Robotics (Ghana)
• Braulio Otavalo, OA7 (Ecuador)
• Brendah Nantongo, Veathari Ventures Uganda Limited (Uganda)
• Demetrius Lancaster, Joy Education Foundation (United States)
• Derwin Sisnett, Adaptive Commons (United States)
• Esperance Luvindao, OSAAT Africa Health Foundation (Namibia)
• Esther Wanjiru, Farmer Lifeline Technologies (Kenya)
• Gabriella Wong, accesSOS (United States)
• Godfrey Riddle, Civic Saint (United States)
• Helena Hassani, Boland Parwaz PTY LTD (Australia)
• Ida Solitoke, Baobaby (Togo)
• Ifeoma Uddoh, Shecluded (Nigeria)
• Isaac Esene, GoodWorks (United States)
• Issel Masses Ferrer, Sembrando Sentido (Puerto Rico)
• Jacqueline Jennings, The Fireweed Institute (Canada)
• Jessica Ilunga, Ius Stella (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
• Joy Cooper, Culture Care (United States)
• Juliana Busasi, Tanzania Health and Medical Education Foundation (Tanzania)
• Kartik Sawhney, Global Network of Young Persons with Disabilities LLC (United States)
• Lea Masamo Bey, Africa Sickle Cell Organisation (Kenya)
• Lina Ayenew, Education for Ethiopia (Ethiopia)
• Lydiah Bosire, 8B Education Investments (Africa)
• Mamobo Ogoro, GORM (Ireland)
• Marie-Reine Seshie, Kola Market (Ghana)
• Maryanne Gichanga, AgriTech Analytics Ltd (Kenya)
• Mati Amin, SOLAx (Afghanistan)
• Naom Monari, BENA CARE LTD (Kenya)
• Nasser Ssenyondo, Silent Café (Uganda)
• Raju Kendre, Eklavya India Foundation (India)
• Siza Mukwedini, Matamba Film Labs for Women (Zimbabwe)
• Stanley Anigbogu, LightEd (Nigeria)
• Sylivia Kyomuhendo, Infants’ Health Foundation (Uganda)
• Tabitha Mpamira, Mutera Global Healing (East Africa)
• Taita Ngetich, Synnefa (Africa)
• Tatiana Blanco, Uru Uru (Bolivia)
• Utkarsh Saxena, Adalat AI (India)
• Virtue Oboro, Tiny Hearts Technology (Nigeria)
• Yura Sapi, Protectores de la Tierra (Colombia)

This cohort is the fourth and final cohort of Fellows supported by the Racial Equity Philanthropic Fund.

Echoing Green launched its Racial Equity Philanthropic Fund in 2020 to build sustainable pathways of funding and support for next-generation leaders advancing racial equity globally.

Since August 2020, the organization has made tremendous progress towards the Fund’s ambitious goals, having supported 120 new Fellows and awarded $12 million in follow-on investments.

the organisation noted that partners who have supported the Racial Equity Philanthropic Fund include leading supporters such as the Jerome L. Greene Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Skoll Foundation, Comcast NBCUniversal, the Citi Foundation, Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women, Barclays, BlackRock, The Allstate Foundation, Walmart Foundation, World Education Services Mariam Assefa Fund, Salesforce, Tiger Global Impact Ventures, The JPB Foundation, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Additional Fund supporters can be found here.

Other leading supporters of Echoing Green include KKR, General Atlantic, Target, Arrow Impact, California Endowment, Apollo Opportunity Foundation, and Ballmer Group.

These leaders join the 18 Fellows announced in April of this year to round out the 2022 Echoing Green Fellowship class.

The newest Fellows are launching innovative social enterprises to address urgent global challenges, including systemic racism in NYC schools, high rates of recidivism in U.S. prisons, and human rights conflicts for Tasmanian refugees in Australia. 

Since 1987, Echoing Green has identified nearly 1,000 leaders launching new social enterprises and equipped them with the support and network to reimagine new, more just ones that work better for all of us.

In its 35-year history, the organization has accelerated the work of some of the world’s best and brightest social innovators.

Previous Fellows include former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama (’91); political commentator Van Jones (’94); co-founders of national health movement GirlTrek, T. Morgan Dixon and Vanessa Garrison (’13); founder and CEO of climate technology startup BlocPower, Donnel Baird (’12); and the organization’s own President, Cheryl L. Dorsey (’92). 

Each Fellow will receive an unrestricted investment of $80,000 over 18 months; access to a community of like-minded leaders, strategic partners, and industry peers; and a continuum of leadership support valued at $200,000 per Fellow, including wellness programming and pro-bono legal support. 

View the list of fall 2022 Fellows below:

• Armen Henderson, founder of Dade County Street Response (Miami, FL)
• Bernadette Lim, founder of Freedom Community Clinic (Oakland, CA)
• Ciro Muiruri, founder of Pendo International (Kenya)
• Donte Miller, co-founder of Village Micro Fund (Atlanta, GA)
• Elizer Darris, co-founder of Legal Revolution (Minneapolis, MN)                            
• Grace Williams, founder of Citizen Tasmania (Australia)
• Heather Skanes, founder of Oasis Family Birthing Center (Birmingham, AL)
• Jason Wee, co-founder of Architects of Diversity (Malaysia)  
• Kaveto Tjatjara, founder of Flushh (Namibia)
• Keithlin Caroo, founder of Helen’s Daughters (Saint Lucia)
• Khaled Shaaban, founder of Subul Impact Outsourcing (Europe & The Middle East) 
• Marq Mitchell, founder of Chainless Change, Inc. (Sunrise, FL)
• Namakula Alicia Mbalire, co-founder of Women Income Network (Uganda)
• Neo Hutiri, founder of Pelebox (South Africa)
• Racquel Bonner, founder of Fit To Navigate (Bexley, OH)
• Rebecca Aime, founder of Patapia (Uganda)
• Ruha Shadab, founder of Led By Foundation (Delhi, India)
• Sarah Medina Camiscoli, co-founder of The Peer Defense Project (New York, NY)
• Sheila Maddali, co-founder of National Legal Advocacy Network, (Chicago, IL)
• Terron Ferguson, founder of YANCY (Miami, FL)

“We are proud to partner with these leaders who hold deep knowledge of and ties to their communities and use it to present creative new solutions to centuries-old challenges across a range of issues and geographies,” said Cheryl L. Dorsey, president of Echoing Green.

“This class of Echoing Green Fellows has the potential to sustainably improve the lives of millions of people around the globe. From creating a first-ever model that opens access to legal degrees and careers for incarcerated people in the U.S., to developing technologies that provide life-saving medication for Black patients in southern Africa, these 20 leaders are laser-focused on leveraging innovation in service of justice.”

She added, “The perseverance and courage of these social entrepreneurs is truly an inspiration to all of us who strive for a more equitable future.”

These 20 Fellows were selected from a pool of more than 1,300 applicants working in more than 100  countries, including the United States, Australia, India, Malaysia, Namibia, Saint Lucia, South Africa, Turkey, Uganda, and Kenya. For the fourth class in a row, one hundred percent of the Fellows in this class identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color.

Echoing Green launched its Racial Equity Philanthropic Fund in 2020 to build sustainable pathways of funding and support for next-generation leaders advancing racial equity globally.

Since August 2020, the organization has made tremendous progress towards the Fund’s ambitious goals, having supported 56 new Fellows and awarded $2.5 million in follow-on investments to 67 alumni Fellows.

By mid-2024, Echoing Green will launch and scale 520 social enterprises, including 100 new Fellows, focused on racial equity in the U.S. and globally; and disburse more than $10 million in follow-on funding to alumni Fellow-led organizations seeking to scale their racial justice work. 

Partners who have supported the Racial Equity Philanthropic Fund include leading supporters the Jerome L. Greene Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Comcast NBCUniversal, the Citi Foundation, Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women, Barclays, The Allstate Foundation, Walmart Foundation, World Education Services Mariam Assefa Fund, Salesforce, Tiger Global Impact Ventures, The JPB Foundation, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Additional Fund supporters can be found here. Other leading supporters of Echoing Green include KKR and General Atlantic.