The war against Ukraine hits close to home for Tiera Sahar Ataii. The 25-year-old is descended from Iranian refugee parents. She turned down an offer from Cambridge University to travel the world helping refugees. She turned to entrepreneurship after being on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list.
The proceeds from the sale of pro-refugee T-shirts were used to pay for legal aid for refugees. 100,000 refugees have received legal aid through her initiative, SolidariTee, which works with 80 universities across the world. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Ataii has taken on a position as a humanitarian advisor for the U.K. charity War Child, as well as running her non-profit.
Ataii is one of the leaders on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Impact list, using their voices and entrepreneurial drive to make an impact. Steven Chapman, chief impact officer at the IKEA Foundation, was one of three judges who scored the members of this year's list. Dion and Ainsley are working with Meta, formerly Facebook, to make the metaverse more equitable after they appeared on the list in 2020.
The entrepreneurs on this year's list have all used creativity to tackle complex global issues. The inspiration for her sustainable underwear startup comes from her childhood in Southeast China, where cotton is the main crop, and there was a lot of water needed to grow it. Her innovative solution, developing material using natural alternatives like corn and mushrooms, has proven popular with shoppers.
The other social entrepreneurs are hoping to make our lives more sustainable. The founder of Dutch transportation firm GO Sharing has raised $55 million to expand his company's fleet of shared electric mopeds, e-bikes and electric cars across Europe. The priority for this year's listmakers is racial equity. The founder of Foundervine is providing mentorship, training and financial support tounderrepresented founders. Nii Cleland and Darrell Coker founded the company to measure racial bias inside companies. It is being used by big-name clients like the Premier League.
A woman who helped get free sanitary products in England and an actress who knocked down barriers for Muslims are just a few of the change-makers on this year's list.
To learn more about these young visionaries, read our complete Social Impact list here, and be sure to check out our full Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe coverage here.
The Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe Class of 2022.
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