Meet our 2018 Kumvana Fellows!

EWB is excited to welcome the 2018 Kumvana Fellows to Canada! These 11 dynamic African leaders will be spending one month in Canada learning, story sharing and building rich networks across the country.

In the Chichewa dialect of Malawi, Kumvana means “unite so we may discuss and understand.” In this spirit, the Kumvana Program builds the capacities of young African professionals, while fostering rich collaborations between Canadian and African partners.

The fellows are eager to develop their systems-change leadership skills by sharing ideas at EWB’s National Conference, visiting our university chapters, and connecting with community members and Canadian organizations during their one month in Canada.

Andy Acon
KuganPro
Kampala, Uganda

Andy is the Founder and Managing Director of KuganPro, which provides an alternative, sustainable source of high-protein animal feed in Uganda. Andy’s first-hand experience as a poultry farmer and fish farmer fostered his passion for sustainable agri-business. Prior to founding KuganPro, Andy founded the Premium Quality Food Poultry Farm, and the BUMOFF FISH FARM, which were both unsustainable due to the high cost of protein-rich feeds. He founded KuganPro to develop a creative solution to the feeds challenge in Uganda.

Cedrick Karibwende
Fit Feet
Kampala, Uganda

Cedrick co-founded Fit Feet with his sister Vivian to create employment opportunities in their community. Fit Feet is a social enterprise that empowers women and youth in the Kasokoso slum area to create footwear and leather accessories. In November 2017, FitFeet was hand-picked as one of twenty startups to attend Blackbox Connect 20, an intensive two-week residential program in Silicon Valley. Blackbox Connect 20 is open to startup founders from across the globe seeking to hone their craft of entrepreneurship, amplify their drive, and fortify the foundation of their startup.

Emily Achieng
LishaBora Hydroponics Ltd.
Kiambu, Kenya

Emily is the Finance Manager at LishaBora Hydroponics Ltd, an EWB venture that works with smallholder dairy farmers and traders. LishaBora provides farmers with quality animal feed products on interest-free credit, and offers a mobile record-keeping app through which farmers and traders can build a credit profile in order to secure loans. Emily has always been committed to creating social impact, and she is passionate about creating opportunities for others to thrive by helping people to manage their finances. She was drawn to the Kumvana Fellowship program because of its commitment to tackling global inequalities by creating a movement of global leaders.

Eric Onyambu
Enric Farm Fresh
Nairobi, Kenya

Eric is Cofounder and Director of Enric Farm Fresh, a social enterprise that provides home and office delivery of organic fresh fruits and vegetables. Eric is passionate about organic farming and using agribusinesses to create social change. Recognizing that most of Kenya’s rural population lacks access to employment opportunities, Eric founded Enric Farm Fresh to provide rural women and youth with the tools to become organic farmers. Enric Farm Fresh provides its farmers with training and seedlings to grow produce, and purchases the produce from them at market price to sell in Nairobi.

Gladys Muthara
TAP Africa
Nairobi, Kenya

Passionate about youth leadership, Gladys is the Founder and Team Lead of Teen Action Program (TAP) Africa. Gladys was the fifth woman in her village to attend university and after her own journey to put herself through school, Gladys felt it was her responsibility to mentor other young girls. TAP Africa is a social enterprise that provides youth with the tools to identify and address challenges in their communities. TAP Africa strongly believes that for positive change to happen in Kenya, young people should not be left behind.

Joel Mukasa
Joelex Uganda Limited
Kampala, Uganda

Joel is the Director of Joelex Uganda Limited, which develops climate-smart technologies to improve access to safe and affordable sanitation and water in informal settlements in Uganda. While completing a Bachelor’s of International Business at Makerere University in Kampala, Joel became acutely aware of the interconnection and impact of poverty and climate change on his fellow Ugandans. This led him to found Joelex, which designs, builds and operates affordable toilet and shower facilities and waste-to-water treatment plants in Kampala.

June Seif
PEG Africa
Accra, Ghana

June currently works at PEG Africa, which combines her passion for software engineering and financial inclusion. PEG provides solar panels and technology to households in West Africa on credit to make clean energy more affordable. Using a unique financing approach, called ‘pay-as-you-go’ financing, PEG enables customers to replace their spending on poor-quality poluting fuels with payments on solar panels that work towards outright ownership. After 12 months of payments, PEG customers own their solar panels. Prior to PEG, June worked as a Systems Reliability Engineer with VIAMO (previously VOTO Mobile). She is also actively involved as a mentor in the Akira-Chix training program, which provides training, mentorship and outreach programs to increase the number of skilled Kenyan women working in technology.

Lilian Baraza
Sanergy
Nairobi, Kenya

Lillian currently works at Sanergy, a social enterprise that makes hygienic sanitation affordable and accessible throughout Africa’s informal settlements. The eldest of five siblings, Lilian’s responsibility to take care of her younger siblings made her realize her passion for human connection and care, which led her to pursue a degree in Social Sciences and a specialization in Human Resources. Lilian’s role at Sanergy involves advocating for her team within the organization, and managing all people-related decisions. She is excited about the Kumvana Fellowship’s focus on leadership development.

Lily Kudzro
Devio Arts Centre
Accra, Ghana

Lily is Executive Director at Devio Arts Centre, a non-profit children’s arts centre. Devio Arts Centre trains teachers to engage with students through play, and Lily has piloted a number of innovative approaches to education during her time at the Centre. These include the Creative Box TV Challenge, which allows students to publish their own children’s books, as well as her newest initiative to develop a sign language app that teaches children sign language in a game-like format. Lily believes that children in any situation should be given opportunities to express themselves.

Prince Anim
TransGov Ghana
Accra, Ghana

Prince is the CoFounder and Social Impact Lead of TransGov Ghana. Recognizing the vital role of information in local development, TransGov is using Ghana’s Open Data Initiative (GODI) to help citizens monitor and comment on the implementation and progress of developmental projects in their local communities and nationwide. Prince also CoFounded OncenOut in Nigeria, an online fashion marketplace that uses proceeds from the sale of pre-owned clothing and accessories to support Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria. Prince is excited to learn more about Canadian politics, advocacy groups that hold government accountable, and the relationship between the Canadian government and its citizens.

Trust Birungi
Akorion
Kampala, Uganda

Trust is the CoFounder and Chief Development Officer at Akorion, a tech company that enables smallholder farmers to improve their access to credit, increase the volume and quality of their yields, and connect with networks of buyers and exporters. Akorion’s mobile technology enables farmers to create digital credit profiles in order to apply for loans. Akorion also provides farmers with improved seeds, fertilizer and other products, as well as the training on how to use these products effectively, and facilitates transactions and logistics between farmers and buyers. Trust is excited to connect with other ag-tech companies and learn more about fundraising in a Canadian context.