Ken Njoroge, Co-founder, and Co-CEO of Cellullant– Africa’s leading financial technology company has been named the recipient of the 2019 Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award, an honor bestowed each year by the World Economic Forum’s sister organization, Schwab Foundation to identify and recognize the world’s leading social entrepreneurs.
The Schwab Foundation award is in recognition of Cellulink’s work in building digital payments and financial services that enable businesses and consumers in critical sectors such as Agriculture, Retail Distribution, Transport, Logistics, and E-commerce to access services at the very point where they need them.
Founded by Co-CEOs Ken Njoroge and Bolaji Akinboro, Cellulant offers the opportunity to create transformational growth within African economies by expanding financial inclusion on a continent where nearly two-thirds of the population do not have a bank account. This includes easy-to-access digital payment solutions, interoperable financial services, and mobile banking solutions that can help the unbanked open accounts, cut fees, and save for the future.
Cellulant is also helping farmers and small and medium-sized business owners expand their reach through improved financial services. More than 94% of Cellulant’s customer base was previously unbanked before they signed up.
“This award is a recognition of the innovative spirit of the communities that we serve, as they are the ones who constantly push us to find the best possible solutions to their everyday challenges. It is also a celebration of the great work that our teams at Cellulant have done over the last 15 years,” said Ken Njoroge,
He added, “As a business, we believe that return on investment is just as important as a measurable impact on the lives of fellow Africans. It is for this reason that we wake up every day to make sure that each individual and business across Africa, no matter their station in life, has access to services that empower them to achieve their aspirations”.
On the other hand, Dr. François Bonnici, Head of the Schwab Foundation, said that there was a growing recognition that social innovation had diffused into every sector and institution, and the presence of pioneering agents of change re-inventing the way our institutions operate is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
“The 2019 Schwab Foundation Awardees represent a new ecosystem of leaders who are driving change and shifting organizations and systems towards a more just, inclusive, sustainable future. Not only are they are demonstrating alternative models to serve, but they are also showing that mobilizing and transforming society is possible using the levers of impact investing, social economy policies, 4IR technologies and social enterprise that aims for inclusion and equality,” he added.
He further stated, “The Schwab Foundation Awardees serve as models for embedding this thinking and action into the work of all who aim to achieve the SDGs.”
Bolaji Akinboro, Co-CEO of Cellulant, commented: “Although the rate of financial inclusion has grown over the last 10 years, only 43 percent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa was estimated to be financially included by the end of 2018. Additionally, only 10% of all payments and transactions are based on technology, despite Africa having the highest level of mobile phone and internet penetration. This global recognition shall encourage all of us at Cellulant to continue striving to overcome these challenges by designing, developing and deploying cutting-edge innovations and business models”.
For over 20 years, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship has recognized social entrepreneurs as a new breed of leader – values-driven, inclusive, compassionate, entrepreneurial individuals who develop sustainable new models in business, social development and environmental initiatives. They have been at the forefront of R&D for society and civilization, accelerating how we solve problems and imagining new futures through experimentation, iteration and practice.
In these two decades, we have curated and gathered over 350 leading social entrepreneurs from 70 countries in the Schwab Foundation community and embedded them into the platforms of the World Economic Forum. Together, they have demonstrated significant progress on how we approach environmental sustainability and consumption, health and education, rural development and job training, and finding new ways to advance human rights and equality in different contexts around the world.
Currently, Cellulant is valued at Sh. 10.8 billion. The company has also been named as one of the fastest-growing companies in Africa.
In May 2018, Cellullant sold a 44.04 percent stake valued at Sh. 4.8 billion to the US-based social impact investment company . This was billed as one of the largest such deals by a Kenyan fintech company.
Get more stories on African leaders here
