Yesterday [17/07/2018], former US President - Barack Obama - spoke to a stadium full in Johannesburg in commemoration of Mandela Day. Some of the attendants were a group of 200 people that was recently selected as the continent's emerging leaders.
The group, mostly comprised of entrepreneurs, is the inaugural one with members from over 44 African countries.
"[The Leaders] Africa program is bringing together 200 emerging leaders from across the continent to explore new ways to take on the biggest challenges in their communities. Follow along here for the latest from Johannesburg and to hear from the Leaders themselves," reads a message from the Obama Foundation website.
Today [18/07/2017], Obama will speak to these emerging leaders in Johannesburg and the event can be streamed live here.
"The Town Hall continues the conversation about what it means to be a global citizen and make an impact — and how the Obama Foundation can support the leaders in this effort," wrote the Obama Foundation.
Here is the complete list of the Ugandan entrepreneurs and what they are currently doing.
1. Kiyingi Amos
Amos is committed to reconciliation and youth empowerment in Uganda. He is the national director and founder of Uganda Unites, a youth-led movement that seeks to connect youth from different religious and ethnic backgrounds across Uganda.
2. Francis Xavier Asiimwe
Francis is the CEO at Kaaro Health, an innovative Uganda-based health-tech company that is using software and hardware tools to improve access to high-quality healthcare for underserved communities. Kaaro Health has previously participated in the Make-IT accelerator program as well as the F-Lane accelerator programme in Berlin.
3. Robert Katende
Robert is a social worker working with children in less privileged communities such as slums and remote communities. He uses the game of chess as a platform to restore and transform their lives by awakening the sleeping genius in each of them.
4. Kevin Lubega
Kevin’s passions include entrepreneurship and innovation. He has founded and contributed to various technologically dependent businesses, in sectors including FinTech, renewable energy, e-commerce, e-learning, and high-tech. Some of the ventures Kevin is involved in are Ezeemoney and EasyTicket. Recently, he was also among the 3 Ugandans named among the Forbes Under 30 for Africa for the year 2018.
5. Abaas Mpindi
Mpindi is the CEO and founder of the Media Challenge Initiative, a youth-driven non-profit building the next generation of journalists. During his speech, Mandela pointed out the work Abaas's organization is doing to groom the next generation of journalists.
6. Andrew Mukose
Andrew is the founder and chief executive officer of Gifted Hands Network, an organization that aims to reduce breast cancer deaths and increases the employability of visually impaired women in Uganda.
7. Elizabeth Nalugemwa
Elizabeth is the CEO and founder of Kyaffe Farmers Coffee. Her passion is to empower women coffee farmers through fair trade coffee and foster leadership within the community she lives in.
8. Enock Nkulanga
Enock is a development practitioner currently working as the national director for African Children's Mission, a non-profit organization with operations in Uganda and Kenya reaching out to vulnerable children through education.
9. Monica Nyiraguhabwa
Monica is the co-founder and executive director of Girl Up Initiative Uganda (GUIU), which aims to provide young women and girls with opportunities to succeed and thrive as leaders in their slum communities through holistic education and economic empowerment.
10. Manuela Pacutho
Manuela is a marketing professional and founder and CEO of The Cradle; Uganda's first ever 24-hour workplace infant and toddler care center. Manuela is also a Mandela Washington Fellow who was a part of last year's cohort.
Also read: Meet Manuela Pacutho, the Founder of The Cradle and a 2017 Mandela Washington Fellow
11. Ogik Peter
Peter is a disability activist from Uganda. He is the co-founder and chairperson of the Source of the Nile Union of Persons with Albinism (SNUPA), a nongovernmental organization that advocates for the rights of persons with albinism in Uganda.
12. Mushusha Richard
Mushusha is a software developer, founder, and CEO at Footmo Kit, and at Whole Mentorship Organization Limited. Footmo Kit is a handheld device that diagnoses foot and mouth diseases in livestock in hard to reach and underserved areas.