Echoing Green announces 2024 fellowship recipients, including six innovators from Kenya

Get breaking business news on WhatsApp

Six social entrepreneurs based in Kenya are among the 44 people selected for the 2024 Echoing Green Fellowship, the New York based social innovation funder announced on August 8, 2024. Their ventures cover mental health, sickle cell care, home-based nursing, crop disease detection, soil and farm data, and greenhouse farming. Each Fellow receives USD 80,000 in unrestricted funding over the 18-month fellowship, which is about KSh 10.3 million at the August 2024 exchange rate of roughly KSh 129 to the dollar.

Echoing Green said the new Fellows work in 21 countries, making the cohort one of the largest and most geographically diverse in its history. They were picked through an open call and a participatory grantmaking process from about 2,100 applications, which works out to roughly one Fellow for every 48 applications.

The Kenya-based 2024 Fellows

Echoing Green’s own announcement tags five of these Fellows under Kenya and lists Taita Ngetich’s Synnefa under Africa as a whole. Its Fellows directory gives Nairobi as the base of Ngetich, Monari and Gichanga, Parklands in Nairobi for Wanjiru, and Taveta for Masamo.

Two health ventures and a mental health programme

Three of the six Kenyan Fellows work in health. Lea Kilenga Masamo, founder and executive director of the Africa Sickle Cell Organisation, set out a goal to “improve the survival and well-being for individuals with sickle cell disease in rural Kenya” by making high quality, affordable care available in local communities. ASCO works with patients, government and other partners on regional sickle cell programmes.

Naom Monari, founder and chief executive of Bena Care, wants to cut healthcare costs for chronically ill patients in middle and low-income families. Bena Care builds a network of health workers who deliver home-based nursing and in-home therapy, and trains family caregivers, most of whom are women. Echoing Green noted that the model also addresses the unpaid caregiving that women in these communities carry.

Amisa Rashid Ahmed’s Nivishe Foundation focuses on the mental health of young people. Its flagship Nivishe Mental Health Fellowship uses peer support and culturally relevant approaches, including local languages, to raise awareness and fight stigma. Her stated aim is to expand mental health services, community support and health education for marginalised youth across Africa.

Three farm technology companies

The other three Kenyan Fellows are building technology for farmers. Esther Wanjiru founded Farmer Lifeline Technologies at 26. Its solar-powered field devices monitor crops continuously and use algorithms to detect pests and diseases early, then send farmers an SMS with recommendations for affordable and environmentally friendly treatments. Echoing Green said the company’s products had reached tens of thousands of smallholder farmers, most of them women. She had earlier received the FAO Achievement Award and the Waislitz Global Citizen Disruptor Award in 2023.

Maryanne Gichanga, co-founder and chief executive of AgriTech Analytics, combines data from AI-powered satellites with solar-powered sensors installed on farms to measure soil health and detect pests and diseases. Farmers get the reports on their phones. Before AgriTech Analytics, she founded Mkulima Kwanza, which helped farmers reach inputs and markets. Her profile lists the Presidential Innovation Award 2024 among her awards.

Taita Ngetich founded Synnefa, which makes modular greenhouses fitted with precision farming technology so that smallholder cash crop farmers can grow more with fewer resources. Synnefa pairs its sensors with on-the-ground support, using the data to arrange training, finance, farm inputs and links to buyers.

What the fellowship gives

Beyond the USD 80,000 in unrestricted money, Echoing Green describes a support model of capital, capacity building and community. Fellows join a lifelong network of past Fellows, partners and peers. Unrestricted money matters for early-stage ventures because founders can spend it where it is most needed, such as salaries, product development or operations, rather than on a funder’s set budget lines.

The organisation said the 2024 group is the fourth and final cohort supported by its Racial Equity Philanthropic Fund, launched in 2020. Since August 2020 the fund has backed 120 new Fellows and awarded USD 12 million in follow-on investment. Its supporters include the MacArthur Foundation, the Skoll Foundation, the Citi Foundation, Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women, Barclays, BlackRock and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Why it matters for Kenyan founders

Six Kenya-based Fellows in a single cohort of 44 is a strong showing for one country, and it reflects how many of the continent’s social ventures are built in Nairobi. Grant funding of this kind is also non-dilutive, meaning founders do not give up shares in their company to get it. That is especially useful in agriculture and health, where profits often come slowly and equity investors can be cautious. For context on how much money Kenyan startups are raising from investors, see our report on Kenyan startups raising USD 297 million in nine months of 2026.

Founders thinking about applying in a future round should note that Echoing Green looks for leaders at the earliest stage of an idea and asks for a bold idea statement like those quoted above. Registering the venture properly at home helps too. Our guides on getting a KRA PIN for a company and applying for a single business permit cover the basics. People looking to work for social enterprises can browse openings on Job in Kenya.

Frequently asked questions

Who are the Kenyan 2024 Echoing Green Fellows?

Amisa Rashid Ahmed (Nivishe Foundation), Esther Wanjiru (Farmer Lifeline Technologies), Lea Kilenga Masamo (Africa Sickle Cell Organisation), Maryanne Gichanga (AgriTech Analytics), Naom Monari (Bena Care) and Taita Ngetich (Synnefa).

How much does an Echoing Green Fellow receive?

USD 80,000 in unrestricted funding over the 18-month fellowship, about KSh 10.3 million at August 2024 rates, plus training and network support.

How many people applied for the 2024 fellowship?

Echoing Green said it received about 2,100 applications and selected 44 Fellows working in 21 countries.

Sources: Echoing Green, “Echoing Green Announces 2024 Cohort of Fellows” (August 8, 2024); Echoing Green, “Introducing the 2024 Echoing Green Fellows”; Echoing Green Fellows Directory profiles.