Shiza Shahid age/24 – Cofounder, Malala Fund
When Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani daring to advocate for girls’ education, was shot by the Taliban in 2012, Shahid, who had met Malala in 2009, got on a plane. She helped oversee Malala’s medical care in London. “While I was there by her side,” says Shahid, “she woke up and said, ‘I want to continue my campaign.’ ” The Stanford grad and McKinsey consultant became the 16-year-old’s chief strategist on the spot. “How do we leverage her voice in a way that drives all this energy around Malala into meaningful action?” Her answer is the Malala Fund, founded to turn her vision for girls’ education into reality. Grants to date: $400,000, half from the World Bank and half from Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. A documentary on Malala’s work by Davis Guggenheim is expected for release in 2014.
Kamel Al-Asmar age/29 – Founder, Nakhweh
Nakhweh—Arabic for chivalry—is the first volunteer network for the Arab world. Former web developer Kamel Al-Asmar built the site from scratch; since 2009 it posted some 650 volunteering opportunities with more than 900 social ventures. So far 21,000 youth volunteers have signed up; Nakhweh estimates that about 1,500 people have actually volunteered.
Esra’a Al Shafei age/27 – Founder, Mideast Youth
Esra’a Al Shafei founded online forum Mideast Youth to amplify the voices of dissent in the Middle East and North Africa and to promote social justice. The organization builds web and mobile applications, including CrowdVoice.org, an open source service that curates eyewitness photos, videos, data, and reports on protests. Mideast Youth also runs mideastunes.com, an online platform for activist musicians, and Ahwaa.org, a communication tool aimed at Arabic LGBT youth.
Khalida Brohi age/25 – Founder, Sughar
When she was 16, Pakistani Khalida Brohi witnessed the honor killing of a friend who had married someone she loved instead of a family-approved choice. The experience inspired her to found Sughar, a nonprofit empowering women in 23 villages in rural Pakistan. Through a six-month course, women gain business skills and learn to turn traditional embroidery into salable fashion products. Grads get small loans to start businesses and help connecting to markets.
Khalil Fuller age/21 – CEO, Learn Fresh
Khalil Fuller took a break from his education and social innovation studies at Brown University to run Learn Fresh Education Co., the group behind NBA Math Hoops. Founded by a curriculum developer and math teacher 17 years ago, NBA Math Hoops is a basketball board game, school curriculum and now mobile app that makes math fun for kids. Fuller has brought the game to 500 schools and afterschool programs, reaching some 15,000 students.
Nadim Mahmud age/28 – Cofounders, Medic Mobile
As a college sophomore doing research on pediatric AIDS in Malawi in East Africa, Josh Nesbit met a doctor serving 250,000 people. With cofounders Isaac Holeman, and Nadim Mahmud, Nesbit founded Medic Mobile on the idea that cell phone technology can help organizations improve health services. By the end of 2013, Medic Mobile’s tools will be helping 16,000 health workers and 7.5 million people across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the US.
Malala Yousafzai age/16 – Co-founder, Malala Fund
Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban in October 2012 for campaigning for girls’ rights to go to school. She’s since received dozens of awards, appeared on The Daily Show, and penned autobiography “I Am Malala.” Now she’s using her fame to further girls’ education: Malala Fund is putting girls in school, starting with girls in the activist’s native Swat.
Mohamed Zaazoue age/26 – Founder, Healthy Egyptians
Egyptian physician Mohamed Zaazoue launched a massive public health education campaign to curtail diseases like pneumonia, the number-one killer of children under age five. Zaazoue’s Protect Your Child engages some 600 volunteers, who teach children and their parents about disease prevention. Zaazoue designed a curriculum—coloring books, puppet shows, games, and cartoons—now in schools, nurseries and hospitals.
Tags: business, CEO Learn Fresh, Co-founder Malala Fund, Egyptian physician Mohamed Zaazoue, Esra'a Al Shafei, Kamel Al-Asmar, Khalida Brohi, Khalil Fuller, Malala Fund, Malala yousafzai, McKinsey consultan, Medic Mobile, Mideast Youth, Nadim Mahmud, Nakhweh, Shiza Shahid, Sughar
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