Charlot Magayi

Charlot Magayi is a 2025 TIME Climate 100 Leader and 2022 Earthshot Prize Winner, globally recognized as one of the most influential innovators transforming the future of clean energy and public health in Africa.

Orphaned at the age of 10 and raised in Mukuru, one of Nairobi’s largest informal settlements, Charlot became a mother at 16. Her life changed when her toddler daughter suffered severe burns from a traditional stove. That moment ignited her mission to protect families from the deadly intersection of household air pollution, energy poverty, and malaria.

Today, as Founder and CEO of Mukuru Clean Stoves, Charlot leads one of Africa’s most impactful social enterprises. The organization has manufactured and distributed over 700,000 life-saving clean cookstoves, improving the health and economic well-being of more than 4 million people across the continent. In 2024, Mukuru launched the world’s first patented mosquito-repellent fuel, a groundbreaking innovation merging clean cooking with malaria prevention.

Her work has been recognized by Global Citizen, the World Bank, the United Nations, and by global media and institutions for redefining what African-led innovation can achieve. Charlot has been named among the 100 Most Influential Young Africans, a Forbes Sustainability Leader, and an Independent Climate 100 honouree in both 2024 and 2025. She is a Schmidt Futures Fellow, Echoing Green Fellow, Africa Business Hero, Global Good Fund Fellow, Stanford Global Energy Hero, Cartier Women’s Initiative Fellow, a Forbes 30 Under 30 alumna, Forbes Africa Youth Icon, One Young World Entrepreneur of the Year, Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awardee, and a Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst.

Charlot is an INSEAD Global Executive MBA ’27 Candidate and serves on the boards of three international funds advancing poverty alleviation and women’s economic empowerment.
And perhaps most charming of all, HRH Prince William affectionately calls her “the Queen of Africa.”