Intelligent Jobs Plenary: How can AI power opportunity for the next generation?
Hear from our inspirational Delegate Speakers
Speakers
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Elizabeth MwangiFounder and CEOElizabeth Mwangi
Founder and CEO
I am a Kenyan social entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Gwiji for Women, a social enterprise using technology to create safer, dignified work opportunities for low income women in Kenya.
My passion for my work is deeply personal. I grew up in Kaptembwa, an informal settlement in Nakuru, Kenya, where I watched my mother work tirelessly to provide for our family. She took on different jobs to keep food on the table and put me and my seven siblings through school. However, the work was often unpredictable and she sometimes returned home without earning anything. As I grew older, I realized that many women in my community faced the same reality. They were hardworking, but trapped by a lack of safe and reliable opportunities to earn a living.
This experience inspired me to found Gwiji for Women in 2021.
Through our mobile platform, we connect women from low income communities with safe, verified and well paying opportunities in domestic work. Through Gwiji, women have increased their average daily earnings from less than $2 to approximately $8. Since 2021, I have helped economically empower more than 5,000 women across Kenya, enabling them to meet household needs, save, invest and build greater financial independence.
My work has received both local and international recognition. In 2023, I was named the global winner of the Aurora Tech Award and recognized among Kenya’s Top 40 Under 40 Women. In 2024, I was featured amongst Kenya’s 50 Most Influential Women, while Gwiji was named Kenya’s Best App for Empowering Women.
My mother remains my greatest inspiration. Her resilience and determination continue to shape my belief that with the right opportunities, women can transform not only their own lives, but those of their families and communities.
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Shrisha PandeyCo-Founder and CMOShrisha Pandey
Co-Founder and CMO
I am Shrisha Pandey, a social entrepreneur from Nepal working at the intersection of climate action, public health and women’s empowerment.
As co-founder of Vayu Drishti, I am helping build technology that makes air pollution more visible, understandable and actionable for communities. What started as a young team trying to solve a problem, we experienced around us has grown into an award-winning climate-tech initiative, selected among the Top 24 startups globally from more than 15,000 teams at the Hult Prize Global Accelerator in the United Kingdom.
My leadership, however, extends beyond entrepreneurship. As General Secretary of Youth Initiative Bagmati Province, I work to create spaces where young people can participate, lead and influence the issues shaping their communities. I am also a member of the Ladies of Liberty Alliance and have contributed to Youth Opportunities Nepal, experiences that have strengthened my commitment to women’s leadership and equal access to opportunity.
I have represented Nepal at more than 20 national and international platforms, including youth forums in the UAE, Japan and India, and have been recognized through Shark Tank Nepal, Startup World Cup Nepal, the ICT Award and the Aspire Leaders Program, a Harvard-affiliated leadership initiative.
Growing up in Nepal taught me that talent and ambition exist everywhere, but opportunity does not. That belief has shaped the leader I am becoming and my commitment to global collaboration.
I want to use entrepreneurship, advocacy and my voice to ensure that young people, especially young women and those from underrepresented communities, are not simply beneficiaries of change but architects of it.
I believe the next generation should not wait to inherit the future. We should be trusted to build it.
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Jakub RychlýFounderJakub Rychlý
Founder
Jakub Rychlý is a Czech social entrepreneur, innovator, and youth leader working at the intersection of financial literacy, education, technology, and youth participation. He is the founder of Not broke, a nonprofit organisation that helps young people build financial skills, prevent debt, and make informed financial decisions through education, workshops, and digital tools.
Jakub also served in years 2025 and 2026 as a UN Youth Delegate representing the Czech Republic, bringing the perspectives and priorities of young people into international discussions and advocating for their meaningful participation in decision-making. His work is driven by the belief that young people should not only be prepared for the future, but should have a real opportunity to shape it.
Beyond the nonprofit sector, Jakub develops digital and AI-driven products and works on projects connecting technology with practical social impact. He is particularly interested in how artificial intelligence and accessible digital tools can improve education, financial wellbeing, and access to opportunities.
Across his activities, Jakub combines entrepreneurship, technology, and civic engagement. He has experience working with young people, educators, public institutions, nonprofits, and international networks, translating ideas into practical initiatives and scalable solutions. His long-term ambition is to help build a society in which young people have the knowledge, confidence, opportunities, and voice to take an active role in shaping their communities and the world around them.
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Anik HossainCEOAnik Hossain
CEO
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Kagisho MasaeCo-founder and CEOKagisho Masae
Co-founder and CEO
Kagisho Masae is a South African entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of SAADC, the company behind Matric Live and AssessR. Born and raised in Itsoseng, North West, as the son of a miner and a cashier, his journey shaped a commitment to ensuring that a learner’s potential is never limited by geography, income or circumstance.
Before entrepreneurship, Kagisho spent 13 years in financial services, including eight years at Investec across private banking, marketing and digital brand strategy. In 2023, he left corporate life and took a pay cut to lead full-time, pursuing a mission rooted in educational access and social mobility.
Under his leadership, Matric Live has grown into one of South Africa’s leading mobile learning platforms, reaching millions of learners through curriculum-aligned content, exam preparation, gamification and AI-powered support. Its reach is strongest among learners in lower-income communities, translating technology into access, engagement and improved outcomes. Matric Live works with Sanlam, Old Mutual, Investec and the National Education Collaboration Trust to deliver scalable education initiatives.
Kagisho’s work has helped earn Matric Live the 2019 MTN App of the Year award for Best Educational Solution and overall 2024 FNB App of the Year title. He has represented African education technology on international platforms, including as a keynote speaker at the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance Summit, and was selected as a One Young World delegate in 2016.
His leadership is grounded in resilience, service and the belief that talent is universal, even when opportunity is not. Kagisho's vision is building technology that does more than digitise education, it expands who gets to participate, progress and imagine a different future.
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Lord Michael HastingsMember, House of Lords, and Chairman, SOAS University London, and Professor of Leadership, Stephen R Covey InstituteLord Michael Hastings
Member, House of Lords, and Chairman, SOAS University London, and Professor of Leadership, Stephen R Covey Institute
Lord Dr Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE is an Independent Peer in the House of Lords. He is Chairman of SOAS University London and former Chancellor of Regent’s University London; Professor of Leadership at the Stephen R Covey Institute at the Jon Huntsman Business School, USA; first Chancellor of Christ the Redeemer College in London; Non-Executive Director at Saxton Bampfylde and Cornerstone VC Fund; Chairman of the Pathway Fund; and Chairman of the ADEN Board of Advisors linked to AFRIfund Capital.
Lord Hastings was Global Head of Citizenship for KPMG International from 2006 to 2019. Before that, he was the BBC’s Head of Public Affairs and Head of Corporate Responsibility from 1996 to 2006, having previously been political presenter of Around Westminster on BBC2, Chief Political Correspondent at GMTV, and presenter at TVAM.
He was the longest-serving Commissioner for Racial Equality from 1991 to 2000 and founding Chairman of the Black British Initiative, now running a successful MBA programme at SOAS University. Lord Hastings has been involved with One Young World since its inception and is now a Board Trustee and member of the Advisory Board. He is also a Vice President of UNICEF and former President of the UK Community Foundations network.
He was conferred with a CBE by HM The Queen in 2003 for services to crime reduction as Founder and Chair of Crime Concern, later founder of Catch22. He received an Independent Peerage in 2005, the UNICEF Global Award in 2005 for his work for Africa’s children, a Doctorate in Civil Law from the University of Kent in 2014, and in 2019 became the first recipient of the Stephen R Covey Leadership Award.
Lord Hastings is co-founder with Kenny Imafidon of MyBrothersKeeper, a prisons and prisoner intervention network, and is Patron of SPARK2LIFE.
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John McCalla-LeacyChair, KPMG FoundationJohn McCalla-Leacy
Chair, KPMG Foundation
John McCalla-Leacy is Chair of KPMG Foundation, Board Member, Business Disability Forum, International Speaker, Strategic Adviser
John is a highly accomplished and visionary leader with over 25 years of experience at a Big Four firm, culminating in a global-level Partner and Vice Chairman role in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG).
A strong advocate for inclusion, diversity, and social equality, John is a seasoned thought leader and international keynote speaker known for driving rapid, complex, and large-scale transformation in technology, commercial and social spheres.
As Head of Global ESG and UK ESG Vice Chairman at KPMG, John owned the execution of KPMG’s global ESG strategy and oversaw the design, development, build and delivery of ESG solutions, products, AI tooling and services across 143 markets. He also held several senior UK, ASPAC regional and global leadership positions over 25 years.
John built a global ESG and Sustainability business which exceeded $1bn in revenues in record time and elevated external analyst recognition from non-existent to market leader. He created the ‘Blue Marble’ concept, transforming an astronaut’s-eye perspective into a visual narrative on sustainability that catalysed major ESG campaigns and achieved over 7 million initial views.
An internationally recognised thought leader, John has spoken at leading global forums including COP, Davos, ChangeNOW, GreenBiz and London and New York Climate Week. He is featured in the Empower Role Model List, the Powerlist and amongst the Top 50 most influential people in Sustainable Finance in the UK.
As Chair of KPMG Foundation, John supports young people in or on the edge of the care system in the UK, and Board Member of Business Disability Forum. He has also held senior inclusion and diversity roles with the UK Government, British Canoeing and the International Business and Diplomatic Exchange.
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Elio Leoni ScetiChairman and CEO, The CraftoryElio Leoni Sceti
Chairman and CEO, The Craftory
Elio Leoni Sceti is an investor in early and growth-stage companies across consumer, technology, and media. He is Chairman and CEO of The Craftory, a $500M fund backing cause-driven consumer brands he founded in 2018. LSG Holdings, his family office, is a co founding partner of Scientifica VC, an Italian deep-tech VC firm focused on AI, Quantum, and advanced materials. LSG also invests in real estate, wealth management, and senior living through Timeless platform.
Elio serves on the boards of Kraft Heinz Co. and of E.P.S. (a holding company of AB InBev), as well as in several portfolio companies spanning technology, health, home care, and food. His non-profit work includes being a Trustee and Counsellor of One Young World (a global forum for young leaders), and a member of the UK Board of Room to Read (focused on girls’ education).
Earlier in his career, Elio held leadership roles at P&G and Reckitt Benckiser, and he served as CEO of EMI Music and of Iglo/Birdseye/Findus (now Nomad Foods), which he sold to a NYC-listed Spac in 2015.