See the system. Understand your position. Identify your leverage.
01
Overview
To build impact that lasts, we must first understand the systems we operate in.
Day 1 sets the foundation for the entire summit by unpacking what “systems” mean in the African impact context and how they actively shape what is possible.
Opening Keynote
Understanding Systems for Sustainability
This opening session introduces participants to the interconnected systems that influence impact work. From funding and markets to policy and internal organizational dynamics, speakers will break down how these forces interact and what they mean for long-term sustainability.
Participants will:
Understand key system drivers of success and failure
Identify where organizations typically get stuck
Explore how AfCFTA, AI, and digital tools reshape impact
Keynote Speakers
Keynote Speaker
Jeroo Billimoria
Founder, One Family Foundation
Jeroo Billimoria is the founder of several innovative and award-winning NGOs, with over thirty years’ experience running systems change organizations as a Skoll Awardee, and Ashoka and Schwab Fellow. Among her previous organizations are Child and Youth Finance International, Aflatoun International, Childline India and Child Helpline International, which have helped enable the financial inclusion and protection of children and youth in more than 180 countries. Jeroo is now the founder of One Family Foundation, which incubates social innovations, helps them scale, and has just transitioned from the Chief Executive to the Board Chair in Catalyst 2030 – a global network working to accelerate progress towards the SDGs through radical and transformative social innovation at the country level.
Keynote Speaker
Angelou Ezeilo
Co-President, Ashoka Africa
Angelou Ezeilo is a seasoned social entrepreneur and advocate for environmental justice, youth empowerment, and inclusive leadership. She is the Founder of the Greening Youth Foundation (GYF), an organization that engages underrepresented youth and young adults in environmental education, conservation, and career pathways across the U.S. and Africa. Through GYF and its Africa arm, Angelou has mobilized thousands of young people to become changemakers in the green economy. In her role as Co-President of Ashoka Africa, she leads efforts to identify and support social innovators across the continent, championing a future where every young person sees themselves as a problem solver and leader. Selected as an Ashoka Fellow in 2016, Angelou continues to inspire a generation through her work at the intersection of environment, education, and equity. She is also the founder of Engage, Connect, Protect LLC, a consulting firm helping organizations align diversity, equity, and sustainability goals with measurable impact. A published author and public speaker, Angelou holds a J.D. from the University of Florida and a B.A. from Spelman College.
Keynote Speaker
Luvuyo Rani
Executive Director, Africa Forward
Luvuyo Rani is a South African social entrepreneur, technology pioneer, and ecosystem builder dedicated to advancing inclusive economic development across Africa. He is the Founder of Silulo Foundation and co-founder of Silulo Ulutho Technologies, an award-winning social enterprise that has helped bridge the digital divide by providing technology access, digital skills training, entrepreneurship support, and employment opportunities in township and rural communities. Starting the business from the boot of his car in 2004, Luvuyo has grown Silulo into one of South Africa's leading township-based technology enterprises. Luvuyo currently serves as Executive Director of Africa Forward, a pan-African initiative focused on advancing inclusive development, entrepreneurship, innovation, ecosystem collaboration, and sustainable economic growth across the continent. In this role, he convenes and connects entrepreneurs, policymakers, funders, corporates, and development partners to drive systemic change and create opportunities that enable Africans to thrive. A former high school teacher, Luvuyo is recognized globally for his commitment to social innovation and community-led development. He has received numerous accolades, including being named a Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year and has participated in global platforms such as the World Economic Forum, where he advocates for entrepreneurship, digital inclusion, and the growth of township and informal economies. Through his leadership at Silulo Foundation and Africa Forward, Luvuyo continues to champion collaborative solutions that empower underserved communities, strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems, create jobs, and unlock Africa's potential for inclusive and sustainable prosperity.
Convener
Adeyemi Adelekan, PhD.
Founder, ASEW & Convener, SIS.
Dr. Adeyemi Adelekan is a researcher at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Manchester (UoM), and a Research Fellow at the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP). Alongside his research, he is the Founder of the African Social Enterprise Workshop (ASEW) and Director of the annual Sustaining Impact Summit.
Adeyemi's academic work centers on the development of circular business models, with a focus on understanding the barriers, enablers, and strategies that support their adoption across sectors. He contributed to the business model research within the "One Bin to Rule Them All" project—a £1.5 million NERC-funded initiative led by UoM—which received two 2024 Making a Difference Awards at the university. He currently serves as Researcher Co-Investigator for the circular business models work package in BuildZero, a £6 million initiative aimed at transforming the UK's building sector to achieve zero emissions, zero waste, and zero new material extraction. His research has been featured in respected international outlets, including journals, policy briefs, blogs, and podcasts.
Adeyemi's commitment to Africa's sustainable development through social enterprise led him to co-convene the first African Social Enterprise Workshop (ASEW) in 2019, during fieldwork in Lagos. There, he saw firsthand the powerful impact that resource-constrained, self-identified social enterprises were making in their communities. Since then, he has guided ASEW's expansion into a continent-wide platform that has reached, trained, certified, and supported thousands of emerging and established social entrepreneurs, strengthening local capacity for lasting, self-driven impact.
Adeyemi holds a PhD from Middlesex University London and an MBA from the University of Salford, where he received the Dean's Award for Excellence in the Business Innovation Live Project category. He is also a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and a member of the African Network of Social Enterprise Scholars (ANSES).
Beyond academia and his work at ASEW, Adeyemi actively mentors and consults with early-stage entrepreneurs across Africa and the UK who are building businesses with sustainability and social impact at their core. Beyond family time, he enjoys reading, faith talks, and basketball.
Panelist
Debbi Brock
Co-Founder, Social Change Innovators
Debbi D. Brock is a leading expert in social entrepreneurship, specializing in systems change, ecosystem development, and education. She joined Catalyst Now in 2021, supporting global social change leaders, and founded the Social Change Innovators online knowledge hub in 2018. Recognized as a Justin G. Longenecker Fellow, the highest honor given by USASBE in 2024, she also received AshokaU’s Distinguished Service to the Field of Social Entrepreneurship Education award in 2011. Brock holds a PhD from Northcentral University, and her recent publications explore social entrepreneurship education and the role of systems change in addressing complex global challenges.
Academic Panel Co-Convener
Panel Session 1
Navigating Systems for Sustainability
How do you move forward when systems are complex, shifting, or limiting?
This session explores how organizations navigate real-world challenges, from accessing funding to growing within policy environments not always designed with them in mind. Expect practical, experience-driven insights.
Funding Positioning
Access and position for long-term capital.
Market Dynamics
Navigate policy and market environments.
Adaptive Vision
Adapt without losing long-term vision.
Co-Convener
Panel Session 2
Building Systems for Sustainability
Sustaining impact is not just about navigating systems, it is about building them.
This session explores how social innovators and ecosystem actors are shaping the systems they need to succeed, moving from isolated success stories to scalable, sustained change across the continent.
Creating new financing pathways
Strengthening market foundations
Influencing policy for systemic shift
Building collaborative support ecosystems
Co-Convener
CANDIDConversation
Featured Session
Fireside Chat: Inside the Mind of a Funder/Investor
Unlocking long-term capital requires moving beyond the pitch. In this intimate session, we peel back the curtain on the decision-making process of those fueling the African impact ecosystem.
To build impact that lasts, we must first understand the systems we operate in. This keynote session sets the stage for the summit by unpacking what “systems” really mean for social innovators in Africa. From funding and finance to markets, policy, and internal organizational dynamics, these systems shape what is possible and what is not.
Through real examples and practical insights, speakers will help participants see how these systems connect, where key leverage points exist, and how different parts of the system influence long-term sustainability. More importantly, this session will challenge participants to reflect on their own position within these systems and how they can better engage with them to sustain their work.
Key areas of focus:
The key factors shaping success or struggle - from funding and markets to policy and capacity.
Common system-level barriers that make it harder to grow or sustain impact.
How emerging shifts such as AFCFTA, AI, and digital tools are influencing the way we work.
Navigating Systems for Sustainability
What does it take to move forward when the systems you depend on are complex, shifting, or even limiting? This session will explore how African social innovators navigate real world challenges such as accessing funding, entering and growing within markets, and responding to policy environments that are not always designed with them in mind.
How do innovators identify opportunities within constraints, build the right relationships, and make strategic choices that allow their work to continue and grow? What does it mean to adapt without losing sight of long term impact?
Through lived experiences and practical insights, this panel will reflect on how to work within existing systems more effectively, while finding pathways to sustain and scale impact.
Key areas of focus:
How organisations can better position themselves to take advantage of opportunities and respond to challenges.
The partnerships and relationships needed to move forward within complex ecosystems.
How data, tools, and technology can support better decision-making and day-to-day operations to strengthen resilience.
Building Systems for Sustainability
What if sustaining impact is not just about navigating systems, but about building better ones? This session will explore how social innovators and ecosystem actors are shaping the systems they need to succeed.
What does it take to create new pathways for financing, strengthen markets, influence policy, and build supportive networks that enable long term impact? How can different actors come together to design systems that work not just for individual organizations, but for the wider ecosystem? This panel will highlight how intentional system building can move impact from isolated success stories to sustained and scalable change across communities and sectors.
Strategic Focal Points:
Practical ways to make impact initiatives more measurable and sustainable over time.
How to work with others to build stronger support systems across funding, markets, and policy.
New ideas, models, and tools that can help organisations sustain and grow their impact without burning out or running out of resources.
Our Strategic Allies
8th Edition Partners
PARTNERSHIPS
FOR SPONSORSHIP & PARTNERSHIPS
Align your brand with one of Africa's largest social innovation movements. Partner with us to scale impact and drive sustainable development.
Access to over 5000 social innovators and ecosystem actors.
Brand Visibility across Global Networks
Strategic Partnership Opportunities
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