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I’ve long advocated harnessing innovation in ways that drive both profitability and societal impact. Yet, beyond the numbers and theoretical frameworks, it’s crucial to highlight the individuals on the ground who are making this vision real. Increasingly, women lead the charge, steering technology toward inclusive, sustainable solutions. Female-led tech start-ups have surged by 24% since late 2024, reflecting a powerful movement toward progress guided by ethical innovation and deep empathy.
We need to celebrate stories of personal leadership, showcasing how ordinary people can catalyze extraordinary change. These stories aren’t just limited to the traditional technology space, we can look to efforts in conservation, education, , alongside technology, which have reshape entire communities. Parallel to these narratives, I’ve observed that woman founders often blend profit and purpose seamlessly – a phenomenon supported by data from leading think tanks that show female entrepreneurs tend to design ventures with social goals at the forefront. My own experience reveals that “Tech for Good” flourishes where individuals have the freedom to bridge high-level strategy and local engagement. Take, for instance, Dr. Fei-Fei Li, whose work at Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered AI tackles the moral dimensions of artificial intelligence. Her algorithms are improving early disease detection in underserved areas – a testament to her insistence that AI should reflect diverse perspectives. Lucy Hughes in the UK similarly transforms waste into wealth: her biodegradable bioplastic, MarinaTex, repurposes fish offcuts that would otherwise pollute landfills, catching the eye of major European packaging firms. Meanwhile, in East Africa, Dorothy Oyugi’s AgroData Connect app provides smallholder farmers with weather forecasts and soil metrics. Farmers using her solution have boosted yields by 25%, highlighting how a single technology can stabilize livelihoods and empower women, who often shoulder much of the farming.
On another continent, India’s “Rocket Woman,” Ritu Karidhal, applies the same ethos from her days at the Indian Space Research Organisation to her private aerospace start-up. New York Times even documented her launch of nanosatellites for pollution monitoring, democratizing space data to inform environmental policy and public health. Meanwhile, Dr. Adriana Marais in South Africa extends a cosmic-scale perspective back to Earth, using off-grid living experiments to refine water recycling and solar-power systems in regions prone to drought. Her blueprint, initially conceptualized for Mars colonization, has proven indispensable for communities struggling with resource scarcity and climate disruption.
All five women span distinct geographies yet share a unifying drive: leveraging technology to serve human dignity, ecological balance, and long-term prosperity. All five woman demonstrate that one single individual, with the help of advanced technologies, can have an enormous transforming the world.
From girls’ education to tech for good: A holistic vision
The work of these innovators dovetails with broader insights on how investing in women’s education and leadership pays dividends. Christina Muli, CEO of One Girl charity told Imagine 5 that “we are not talking about a small community. It’s 50% of the world who are missing out”. Educated girls contribute to lower birth rates, improved health outcomes, and stronger economic growth. These co-benefits ripple outward, enabling communities to adopt advanced tech solutions that might otherwise remain out of reach. When women are fully integrated into the technology sphere—whether through AI, biotechnology, or space programs – the entire ecosystem becomes more inclusive and capable of grappling with 21st-century challenges.
Moreover, the principle of co-benefits extends to different scales, from local to global. Where Dr. Li’s ethical AI frameworks ripple through medical diagnostics, Lucy Hughes’ bioplastics strategy shores up circular supply chains, and Dorothy Oyugi’s mobile platform cultivates climate resilience among smallholder farmers. This synergy between local empowerment and global technology is precisely what drives “Tech for Good” forward. By championing equality and innovation in tandem, we can ensure these solutions address not just superficial market demands but deeper systemic issues such as poverty, energy insecurity, and environmental degradation.
Uniting tech, purpose, and community
What sets these women apart is their commitment to inclusive, transparent processes. Dr. Fei-Fei Li’s mentorship programs broaden AI research to reflect real-world diversity, while Lucy Hughes partners with local fisheries to source biodegradable feedstock. Dorothy Oyugi’s digital literacy circles equip women with the tools to interpret agricultural data, bridging the digital divide. Ritu Karidhal’s open-source satellite data reveals environmental stress points at a granular level, enabling faster, targeted interventions. And Dr. Adriana Marais’ off-grid experiments refine processes vital for climate-stricken communities – the same communities that might be most vulnerable to global crises.
None of these accomplishments appear in isolation; each represents a piece of a larger puzzle that links technology to sustainable development. “Tech for Good” is not an abstract ideal. Rather, it flourishes when entrepreneurs align business strategies with societal outcomes—embracing stakeholder collaboration, ethical governance, and transparent measurement of impact.
Reshaping the future together
As global supply chains are under geopolitical strains and climate extremes intensify, the women featured here present a hopeful counterbalance. Their work inspires confidence that we can reshape systems for collective well-being, not merely short-term profit. By embedding social and environmental objectives into the core of innovation, they illustrate how “Tech for Good” transforms from a buzzword into a proven model for resilience.
A closer look at their stories reveals the power of synergy between local empowerment, global-scale technology, and inclusive leadership. This synergy fuels self-sustaining progress, be it through AI-assisted healthcare, biodegradable alternatives to single-use plastics, or off-grid living prototypes that reduce dependence on fragile infrastructure. At a time when the world’s needs can feel overwhelming, these women serve as reminders that solutions are within reach—if we have the courage, empathy, and vision to invest in them.
Ultimately, fostering more opportunities for girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is pivotal to amplifying such successes. As my own experience suggests, the greatest leaps in sustainability often emerge when diverse talents converge around shared goals. While we still face significant barriers to equity, the momentum behind inclusive, tech-driven change continues to gather force. If we collectively support the kind of leadership exemplified by Dr. Li, Hughes, Oyugi, Karidhal, and Marais, we stand a far better chance of building a tomorrow where technology truly uplifts humanity – and does so at scale.
