Meet the 2025 winners
The One Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Award recognises three of the world's most promising entrepreneurs aged 18 to 35. The award highlights the work of innovative young business leaders whose enterprises are shaping the world around them and inspiring others to launch their own ventures.
These 3 young entrepreneurs have all been selected as winners because of the tremendous impact of their business ventures and how they are inspiring others with their leadership.
The winners were selected from a shortlist by One Young World’s expert judging panel.
The three winners will be presented with this award at the One Young World 2025 Summit.
Kennedy Ekezie-Joseph
Kennedy Ekezie-Joseph
Kennedy Ekezie-Joseph is the CEO of Waymaker and Founder of Kippa, a financial management platform empowering African small businesses. Born in Lagos and raised in Calabar, Kennedy was deeply influenced by witnessing small merchants struggle with manual bookkeeping systems that limited their growth potential. At just 16, he founded the Calabar Youth Council for Women's Rights to combat female genital mutilation across 200 communities in Nigeria.
Carlos Andrade
Carlos Andrade
Carlos Andrade is the CEO and co-founder of Manzana Verde, a foodtech startup tackling food, labour, and economic injustice in Latin America. Born in Piura, a small city in northern Peru, Carlos overcame cancer at age 23, an experience that reshaped his values and led him to create a purpose-driven business. In 2019, together with co-founder Larissa Arias, he launched Manzana Verde to bridge the gap between healthy eating and affordability for the Latin American middle class.
Meet the judges
The One Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Award was created in 2019 to identify and promote the world’s most revolutionary entrepreneurs under the age of 35. Each year, it continues to celebrate innovative young leaders who are creating a positive global impact with their ventures and inspiring others through their leadership.
This expert judging panel has been invited by
One Young World to choose three exceptional winners who are overcoming barriers and taking on major global challenges that the world faces today.
The judges for the 2025 award are:
Ronan Dunne
Ronan Dunne
Ronan Dunne is a Chairman, CEO, Board Strategic Advisor and independent non-executive director.
Kimberly Bryant
Kimberly Bryant
Kimberly is a renowned technology industry leader, visionary and founder and CEO of The Black Innovation Lab by Ascend Ventures. As the CEO of ASCEND Ventures, Kimberly is committed to creating opportunities for marginalized founders building impact-driven companies.
Luis Javier Castro
Founder and CEO, Mesoamerica Investments
Luis Javier Castro
Founder and CEO, Mesoamerica Investments
Luis Javier Castro defines himself as an entrepreneur and activist. He is the Founder and CEO of Mesoamerica Investments, a Private Equity Firm from where he has led investments across Latin America for the last 25 years in fields such as renewable energy, telecommunications, restaurants, dairy industry among others, with world-class partners such as OTPP, ACTIS, Bain Capital and large business groups in the region.
Elio Leoni Sceti
Co-Founder, The Craftory
Elio Leoni Sceti
Co-Founder, 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.
Angela F Williams
Angela F Williams
Angela F. Williams is President and CEO of United Way Worldwide – the first Black woman to lead America’s United Way’s global network serving 1,100 communities in 37 countries and territories around the world. With more than 30 years of leadership experience in the nonprofit and corporate sectors, Williams brings her innovative vision and a long history of purpose-driven work to her role at United Way Worldwide.
Previous Winners
2024 Winners
2019 Winners
Catherine Mahugu
Catherine Mahugu
Elissa Freiha
Elissa Freiha
Kathyrn Minshew
Kathyrn Minshew
Severin Hacker
Severin Hacker
Srikanth Bolla
Srikanth Bolla