Ken Banks
Ken Banks, founder of kiwanja.net, devotes himself to the application of mobile technology for positive social and environmental change in the developing world, and has spent the last two decades working on projects in Africa. His early research resulted in the development of FrontlineSMS, an award-winning text messaging field communication system aimed at grassroots non-profit organizations. Ken graduated from Sussex, was awarded a Stanford University Reuters Digital Vision Fellowship in 2006, and named a Pop!Tech Social Innovation Fellow in 2008. In 2009 he was named a Laureate of the Tech Awards. He was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer in May 2010. In 2011 he was named an Ashoka Fellow, was the recipient of the Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest, and was selected as a member of the UK Prime Minister's delegation to Africa. In 2012 the Cambridge business community presented Ken with a "Special Achievement Award" for his work as a social entrepreneur.
