These incredible young minds are living proof that the youth can and do change the world — and their stories will inspire you to make an impact of your own.  We’ve put together a list that identifies young Africans mostly below 30 years of age, who are using their skills and expertise to not only make a real difference in their own communities but on the continent and beyond!

Meet the top 20 inspirational young people in Africa!

1. Kansiime Kubiryaba Anne (Uganda)

Anne Kansiime (28), is a Ugandan entertainer, comedienne, and actress. She has been referred to as “East Africa’s Queen of Comedy” by some East African media outlets. Her YouTube videos receive thousands of views and she has appeared on BBC Focus on Africa.

2. Kingsley Ezeani (Nigeria)

Kingsley Ezeani is Founder of Information Nigeria, a news portal that has become one of the most popular websites in Nigeria with over 1 million Facebook fans. It is one of the most visited Nigerian websites with over 30 million monthly visitors. Kingsley Ezeani’s passion for development led to the founding of Crowd Sourced Education, a project which earned him the 2011 International Telecommunication Union (I.T.U) fellowship.

3. Siyabulela Xuza (South Africa)

Siyabulela Xuza is 25 years of age and he has a planet named after him. He is the founder and MD of Galactic Energy Ventures .Siyabulela  is said to be one of the best scientist South Africa has ever had. He is also one of the world’s top scientists.

4. Raindolf Owusu (Ghana)

Raindolf Owusu is a Ghanaian born Entrepreneur and Open Source Software Developer with a proven track record of successful projects. He is also the Founder and CEO of Oasis Websoft. A Ghanaian based technology startup. He is a strong advocate for Free and open-source software (FOSS) and this led him to be awarded by the Free software and Open Source foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) as a Guido Sohne fellow in recognition of his continuous use and support for open source technologies in March 2012.

5. Brian Soko (Zimbabwe)

Brian Soko is a Grammy award winning Zimbabwean songwriter, music composer and producer  who is based in the United States of America (USA). He won three awards at the 2014 edition of the Broadcast Music Inc (BMI) R&B/Hip-Hop Awards for composing Beyonce’s song Drunk in love in 2014  and a Grammy for his production efforts in the same project.

6. William Kamkwamba (Malawi)

William Kamkwamba (28) is a Malawian  innovator, engineer and author. He gained fame in his country when, in 2002, he built a windmill to power a few electrical appliances in his family’s house in Masitala using blue gum tress, bicycle parts, and materials collected in a local scrapyard. Since then, he has built a solar-powered water pump that supplies the first drinking water in his village and two other windmills (the tallest standing at 39 feet) and is planning two more, including one in Lilongwe, the political capital of Malawi.

7. Kalenga Kamwendo (Zambia)

Kalenga Kamwendo is the youngest pilot in Zambia. The 20-year-old has become Zambia’s youngest pilot, having been hired as part of Proflight Zambia’s commitment to supporting Zambian youth and nurturing young local talent. Kamwendo was given the job on his 20th Birthday in August last year, and has since joined Proflight’s team of 36 pilots operating across Zambia as well as Malawi as a First Officer.  Kamwendo took an avid interest in the aviation industry whilst in Grade 10 or 11 at school.

8. Raphael Obonyo (Kenya)

Raphael Obonyo is a youth advocate at the national, regional and international levels. Mr Obonyo is the external adviser, UN Habitat’s Youth Advisory Board, and Africa’s representative in the World Bank’s Global Coordination Board on Youth and Anti-Corruption. He is the co-founder and a member of the Advisory council of the Youth Congress, a premier youth-led organization in Kenya. He has extensive knowledge and experience in public policy, international development, political economy, governance and human rights.

9. Nonjabulo Gule (Swaziland)

Nonjabulo Gule, is scientist  guided by curiosity to uncover answers to pressing developmental problems. Gule’s PhD research in Polymer Chemistry tackled the human rights issue of how to provide clean, cheap drinking water to those most in need. Her research, which has been patented, is of consequence to the one-billion-plus people who die every year from water-related ailments. Gule produced a point-of-use filtration system using nano-sized fibres that not only destroy bacteria but also prevent bugs from attaching themselves to the surface of the fibres.

10. Khahliso Khama (Lesotho)

Khahliso Khama – from Lesotho, 24 years of age is a young and self motivated social entrepreneur, journalist, TV Producer and a change agent. At the age of 17 she joined a national newspaper in Lesotho called Public eye as a junior reporter. Khahliso has served as a leader in youth organizations such as Lesotho Blood transfusion services. She initiated the Rotary club which funds to provide financial to the underprivileged learners in her school.

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