Meet the 4 Africans featured on the 2022 Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst list

Bloomberg New Economy has announced its Catalyst class for 2022. The class includes 28 remarkable founders who are working to make their society and the world more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable.

These trailblazers are defining the new economy with cutting-edge technology while also addressing complex issues in their respective regions and globally. Among these global trailblazers are four African founders and co-founders who are making a difference in Africa and beyond.

Bloomberg New Economy Catalysts is a global community of public and private sector innovators, visionaries, scientists, policymakers, and entrepreneurs reshaping the new economy.

The community, which has over 750 members, was founded in 2021 with the goal of bringing together leaders from developed and emerging economies to bridge deepening divides and effect real change toward common prosperity.

Meet the 4 outstanding African founders

Wemimo Abbey, Co-founder and Co-chief Executive Officer, Esusu

Wemimo Abbey is the co-founder of Esusu. Founded in 2016, this financial service, Esusu depicts the African meaning of the name, which represents various saving schemes. The platform assists its users in saving money (individually or collectively) and improving their credit scores.

The digital platform also assists low-income households in building their credit profiles by making on-time rent payments. Because rent is one of the most expensive household expenses, monthly rent payments are often not factored into credit scores, making it difficult for renters to ever buy a home, even in instalments.

With Esusu, rent payments are reported to the three major credit bureaus- Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian- to assist renters in establishing and improving their credit profiles.

The digital platform currently supports 2.5 million properties in the US.

Odunayo Eweniyi, Co-founder and COO, PiggyTech

Odunayo Eweniyi is the co-founder of PiggyTech Global. Founded in 2016, the digital platform has maintained its goal of encouraging economic growth in Nigeria and Africa as a whole through automated micro-savings.

The fintech company aims to make finances easier and more transparent for low and middle-income earners in Africa. It has provided a platform for users to achieve financial independence through responsible saving.

To encourage users’ discipline, the platform offers competitive savings interest rates with limited free withdrawals. Bloomberg reports that the company has over 4 million users and more than $200 million in assets under management.

Odunayo Eweniyi is also a feminist activist who advocates for women’s empowerment. She also co-founded two non-profit organisations for women’s empowerment, Feminist Coalition and Wine & Whine Nigeria.

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Olugbenga Olubanjo Olufemi, Founder and CEO, Reeddi

Olugbenga Olubanjo Olufemi founded Reeddi in 2019 as a hardware service company that charges consumers a small daily fee to easily access a reliable supply of off-grid electricity from renewable energy sources anytime, anywhere.

The climate-tech startup is gradually closing the accessibility gap through limitless and sustainable innovation while providing clean, reliable, and affordable electricity to energy-deficient areas.

Reeddi offers its customers a variety of low-cost services through its various products. The Reeddi’s solar-powered batteries can be rented for a very low price from local stores.

This climate-tech startup aims to not only provide consumers with clean energy but also to reduce energy costs.

Gregory Rockson, Co-founder and CEO, mPharma

Gregory Rockson is mPharma’s co-founder and CEO. Founded in 2013, the African healthcare system is currently addressing the African health sector’s long wait times, poor infrastructure, and insufficient staff by providing patients with affordable medication and services.

mPharma’s goal is to transform community pharmacies into primary healthcare centres, which currently serve over 100,000 patients per month. A separate software offering assists those pharmacies in increasing efficiency by gathering user data for predictive analysis of the centre’s needs.

The ultimate goal is to provide hospitals, patients, pharmacies, and underprivileged citizens with innovative financing and inventory management solutions.