Orphaned at the age of 10, Charlot Magayi grew up in Mukuru, one of the biggest slums in Nairobi, and became a mother at 16. Magayi was moved to provide safer cooking technologies for her community after her daughter was burned by a traditional stove. She has dedicated her time, skills, and experience to combating household air pollution, energy poverty, and malaria.
Her organisation, Mukuru Clean Stoves, has manufactured and distributed over 700,000 life-saving stoves, improving the lives of 3.5 million Africans living in poverty and she recently launched the world’s first patented mosquito repellent fuel.
She won the 2022 Earthshot Prize, and has been recognised and awarded by Global Citizen, the World Bank and the United Nations. She is one of the 100 Most Influential Young Africans and was named a Forbes Sustainability Leader and one of The Independent’s Climate 100 in 2024. Magayi is a fellow of Echoing Green, Schmidt Futures, Global Good Fund, and Stanford Global Energy, and has received honours including Forbes Under 30, Africa Youth Icon, One Young World Entrepreneur of the Year, and the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award. She also serves on the boards of three international funds.
Kenya