In October 2025, Annet Venance Mutembei, the Founder and CEO of Nishati Eco Biomass Briquettes Ltd, stood on the soil of Cape Town, South Africa, her heart beating with pride and anticipation. She had come not just as a representative of Tanzania, but as a voice for Africa’s clean energy movement. The Global Changemakers Summit 2025 gathered fifty outstanding young leaders twenty-five from South Africa and twenty-five from the rest of the world for five transformative days of learning, connection, and action. Hosted at the Cape Town Lodge Hotel and Conference Centre, the summit’s theme centered on empowering youth to lead the world toward sustainability. For Annet, this was more than a conference; it was a milestone a moment to share her country’s innovations and learn from the world’s brightest minds working to change the planet, one idea at a time.
The opening day pulsed with youthful energy and optimism. From the very first ice-breaker, laughter and curiosity filled the room. Annet joined participants in “activism speed networking,” a creative exchange that allowed changemakers to connect through their passions. The day’s focus Design Thinking encouraged everyone to identify real-world social and environmental challenges and reimagine them through human-centered design. For Annet, this approach mirrored her mission at Nishati Eco: using empathy and community understanding to tackle Tanzania’s clean cooking crisis. She presented how charcoal alternatives could transform households and reduce deforestation. Surrounded by innovators and dreamers, she realized the global power of collaboration and that sustainable change begins with listening to the communities one hopes to serve.
On the second day, participants delved into Systems Thinking an analytical model that explores how deep-rooted structures shape the world’s visible problems. Annet was fascinated by the Iceberg Model, which revealed that what we see on the surface such as energy poverty or gender inequality is only a small part of a complex system of culture, policy, and behavior. It resonated with her experience in Tanzania, where women’s access to clean energy is hindered not just by affordability but by traditions and policies. During the Design Thinking Lab, Annet shared how circular economy principles could turn waste into wealth, like using biomass ash to improve soil fertility. Her insights illuminated how African innovations, rooted in resourcefulness and resilience, could drive global sustainability and empower local economies.
Day three, dubbed The Skills Marketplace, transformed the summit into a vibrant hub of exchange and creativity. Young leaders became both teachers and learners, sharing their expertise in communication, fundraising, project management, and storytelling. Annet moved through the sessions like a sponge soaking up inspiration. One session, fundraising with a Cow, taught how traditional community models could spark sustainable financing ideas. Another, Storytelling for Impact, emphasized how a well-told narrative could ignite change more powerfully than statistics. The Networking and Branding session helped her refine her public image and leadership voice. For Annet, the marketplace was not just about skill-sharing it was about rediscovering confidence, connection, and the power of youth working together for a greater purpose.
The fourth day began with anticipation. Participants co-created the Unconference, an open dialogue platform where young leaders chose topics, they were passionate about ranging from gender equality and mental health to environmental justice and inclusive growth. Annet found her voice among discussions on gender and climate resilience, emphasizing how women’s leadership is essential to Africa’s green transition. Her words carried the weight of experience and the warmth of authenticity. As evening fell, everyone gathered for the Vineyard Celebration Dinner at a beautiful estate outside Cape Town. Beneath twinkling lights and the hum of shared laughter, changemakers toasted to their collective journey. For Annet, it was a moment of gratitude and realization that true leadership blossoms when hearts unite in compassion and courage.
By the fourth evening, friendships had blossomed into a network of purpose-driven allies. Participants exchanged contact details, pledged to support each other’s initiatives, and even drafted joint project ideas on napkins. Annet’s new friends encouraged her to dream bigger to imagine Nishati Eco expanding across East Africa, influencing policy, and training rural entrepreneurs. During the Vineyard Celebration, laughter and dance filled the night air, yet beneath the joy was a profound sense of shared responsibility. As the stars glimmered above Cape Town’s vineyards, Annet silently whispered a prayer of gratitude for the people, the learning, and the renewed hope that young Africans could lead global change with dignity and innovation.
The final day was a crescendo of commitment and hope. Each participant took the stage to declare their personal pledge for continued changemaking. When Annet’s turn came, she stood tall, her voice steady with conviction. She vowed to scale Nishati Eco’s reach, empower women through climate education, and align her efforts with Tanzania’s National Clean Cooking Strategy (2024–2034). Applause filled the hall as her vision resonated across the room. In that moment, she wasn’t just representing her company; she was carrying the aspirations of Tanzanian women determined to build cleaner, fairer communities. The summit had given her not just tools, but renewed purpose to return home and ignite real transformation where it was needed most.
Beyond the structured sessions, the summit’s magic unfolded in informal conversations in hallways, over coffee breaks, and during late-night reflections on the hotel terrace. Annet found herself learning from fellow changemakers from Nepal, Brazil, Kenya, and South Africa, each sharing unique approaches to global challenges. They discussed climate financing gaps, youth leadership, and the importance of storytelling in shaping public perception. These exchanges reminded Annet that while resources differ across nations, passion and innovation are universal languages. She left each conversation inspired; her notebook filled with new partnerships and possibilities. For her, these human connections were as valuable as any training module they were seeds of future collaborations that could bloom long after the summit ended.
Cape Town itself became part of the learning journey. Every morning walk along the city’s breezy streets reminded Annet of the intersection between beauty and inequality, prosperity and struggle. The vibrant culture, street art, and ocean air offered perspective a living metaphor for the balance she sought in her work: to harmonize progress with environmental care. During a city tour organized by the summit, Annet reflected on how urban innovation in South Africa could inform sustainable solutions back home. She saw parallels between Cape Town’s resilience and Tanzania’s growing green energy movement, strengthening her belief that Africa’s solutions must be homegrown, collaborative, and grounded in community wisdom.
When the summit concluded, Annet returned to Tanzania transformed. The ideas she carried home were not just theoretical but deeply practical. She envisioned new partnerships with universities, local women’s groups, and renewable energy startups. Inspired by Design Thinking and Systems Analysis, she restructured her company’s community engagement programs to focus on empathy-driven innovation. Within weeks, she began planning workshops to train rural women in clean energy entrepreneurship. Her storytelling skills, sharpened in Cape Town, helped her attract new supporters and media attention. Through every step, she embodied the summit’s spirit that changemaking begins within and radiates outward through every action, however small.
Months later, Annet’s work continued to ripple across Tanzania. Communities that once depended on charcoal began adopting biomass briquettes, reducing both cost and environmental strain. Young women who attended her training sessions started their own clean energy ventures, carrying forward her mentorship. Her collaboration with local policymakers gained momentum, aligning national strategies with on-the-ground innovation. In interviews, she often recalled her time at the Global Changemakers Summit as a turning point a catalyst that turned passion into structured purpose. Each success reminded her that the fight for sustainability is a shared journey, where every small victory builds a global story of resilience.
Reflecting on her journey, Annet often says, “The Global Changemakers Summit
reminded me that our local solutions are part of a global movement.” Her
experience stands as a beacon for African women in climate innovation proof
that leadership, when rooted in empathy and collaboration, transcends borders.
Through Nishati Eco, she continues to build bridges between communities
and the planet, showing how entrepreneurship can fuel sustainability. Her story
is not just about attending a summit; it’s about carrying its flame forward turning
inspiration into action and hope into tangible change. In Annet’s journey, we
find the promise of Africa’s youth: bold, brilliant, and ready to power a
cleaner, fairer world for generations to come.
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