Sustainability expert, Pearl Uzokwe has been appointed as Africa Forward Programme Director at Catalyst 2030, a social entrepreneur and innovator-led movement committed to achieving the UN’s SDGs.
Launched at the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos, Africa Forward Initiative was co-created by members of the African Chapters of Catalyst 2030 to support the next cohort of social entrepreneurs and innovators to achieve the UNs (SDGs) on the continent.
The programme was co-founded by a diverse group of social entrepreneurs, including the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship
of the World Economic Forum, Ashoka, Echoing Green and the Skoll Foundation with the objective of bringing about catalytic change to the social innovation and entrepreneurship sector on the African continent.
The organization goal is to achieve strategic shifts on the continent focusing on four pillars: Narrative shift, Ecosystem development, Funding Shift and Job creation. Youth, capacity building, gender equity, and climate change will be cross-cutting themes across all pillars.
Announcing the appointment on her LinkedIn page, she said “Humbled and thrilled to announce I will be spearheading change and driving impact on an incredible opportunity as Africa Forward Programme Director at Catalyst 2030.
“I look forward to connecting to as many multi sectoral stakeholders as possible on our ambitious goals.”
Pearl is a results-oriented and impact driven executive with 20+ years of global leadership and board membership experience from the Global North and South. She has demonstrated success in formulating and executing transformative strategies, driving social impact initiatives, fostering stakeholder engagement, cultivating partnerships, and shaping corporate sustainability strategies.
Pearl previously served as the Director of the Sahara Foundation and former Director of Sustainability and Governance for Sahara Group. She currently sits on the board of the Malala Fund and is also the Governance Committee Chair.
She possesses extensive expertise in international development and corporate legal realms, operating seamlessly across diverse global contexts and holds an LLB in Law from University of Bristol.
