From Idea to Impact: The Catalyst Pathway
This session pulls back the curtain on entrepreneurship - tracing the journey from the first spark of an idea to the challenges of pivoting and sustaining momentum. Through the lens of a founder’s personal story, we’ll explore themes of courage, adaptability, and how activism can shape a blueprint for building a business with purpose. Most importantly, we’ll examine how failure can fuel growth and where the vital support networks for entrepreneurs can be found.
Speakers
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Lisa HieryCo-CEOLisa Hiery
Speaker
Co-CEO
Yunus Social InnovationLisa is an experienced corporate intrapreneur and impact entrepreneur. She joined Yunus Social business in 2020 to design corporate social innovation programs and shape the intrapreneurship function. Today Lisa serves as Co-CEO and shareholder of Yunus Social Innovation, a sister organization to Yunus Social Business. Lisa combines her background in political science, journalism and innovation with a passion for corporate social intrapreneurship, transformation and ecosystem building. She worked at the intersection of business strategy, innovation and impact for consultancies, venture builders and global corporations. At YSI, Lisa shapes strategies that help corporate innovators build impact-first businesses and work with social entrepreneurs and sector partners to jointly shape the next generation of business leaders.
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Hamzah SarwarGlobal Head of Social Impact & InnovationHamzah Sarwar
Counsellor
Global Head of Social Impact & Innovation
ReckittHamzah is the Global Head of Social Impact and Innovation at Reckitt, where he leads the company’s Global Access Fund that invests to promote universal access to health and hygiene. Since 2020, the fund has impacted over 29 million people across 56 countries, scaling social innovation and entrepreneurship to tackle systemic societal inequities. Hamzah was honoured by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and the World Economic Forum as a leading Corporate Social Innovator in 2024. He is a One Young World Ambassador, Global Fellow with the League of Intrapreneurs and an alumnus of University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Social Impact Strategy.
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Yvette IshimweFounder & CEOYvette Ishimwe
Founder & CEO
IRIBA Water GroupYvette Ishimwe is a social entrepreneur from Rwanda and the Founder & CEO of IRIBA Water Group, a social enterprise delivering climate-smart water solutions across Africa. Her journey into impact work began at age 19, when she launched IRIBA to address the urgent need for safe drinking water in underserved communities. Since then, the organization has reached more than 500,000 people through state-of-the-art filtration technologies, smart water ATMs, and community-led WASH education programs. Under her leadership, IRIBA has pioneered Tap&Drink, a tech-enabled water ATM solution that reduces reliance on firewood and plastic bottles, generates carbon credits, and creates green jobs for youth and women. Yvette is deeply committed to building scalable, locally led solutions that merge climate action, public health, and economic empowerment. She has been recognized as a Queen’s Young Leader, a Forbes 30 Under 30 Africa honoree, and the 2025 Cartier Women’s Initiative Impact Award winner. At the Summit, she looks forward to connecting with fellow changemakers and exploring opportunities to scale impact collaboratively.