As we reflect on 2020, we are full of gratitude.
Thank you for reminding us that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things when we are united. 2020 was a tough year and a transformation for so many of us. For UPG, it was also a year where our mission, methods and message resonated far louder than we had imagined. We touched lives, changed lives and saw our mission come to life across the world. Each number and each update below is rich with beautiful stories and beautiful actions by beautiful souls; and we are grateful for both the destination and the journey. I wish that I could wrap you in the love that we lived this year, the stories below and some of these links may help.
Our Community ended 2020 with over 2,000 Champions and Members; a transformational rise for a Community that counted over 200 at the end of 2019. Over 150 organisations; we had fewer than five in 2019. Over 50 members of the UPG Team; we were 13 a year earlier. There are more numbers further below as well as activity highlights and some invitations too, as we share the love. ♥
And then the pandemic arrived: our biggest projects and activities were immediately suspended. Signed or firm agreements that were supposed to mark progress were suddenly on ice. The disappointment that this ushered in cannot be overstated. Yet the energy remained as we realised that we were fortunate to have life and health. We continued to receive requests to support our stakeholders during the pandemic. And in this moment of despair, we decided to give.
We helped individuals and organisations privately in their pandemic responses. And in this spirit, the COVID-19 Action Hub was born – to provide this help in an open way and to serve even those who may not know us personally. We realised that there is still so much that we can give, despite the pandemic and we featured people taking small and big actions. COVID-19 Action Hub.
#ShapeTheWorld connected us to people that we know and people that we should know, in open conversations that everyone can shape through participation. Among the first sessions was a session that focused on an inspiring farmer, working to help other farmers and to help families that, please watch Cherrie Atilano, who among many accolades we are proud is also a member of the Board of Trustees at UPG. Watch this insight into her work, full of love and full of giving: https://youtu.be/Gzy2y0kq2Nc
One of the ideas of this period was about sharing the spirit of giving to more people than ever and Goodwill Vows was born in a matter of days and in a spark of urgency created by enforced COVID-19 downtime; as we all went into lockdown. The UPG Team rose to the challenge and Goodwill Vows BETA was born. JA Worldwide signed up and the initiative had its first Flagship Partner that brought ideas, resources, expertise and passion to the kitchen. We also welcomed inspiring Advisory Board members for this initiative. You can watch the Highlights of the Launch of #GoodwillVows, full of love, laughter and light:https://youtu.be/WUAHOKImnZk . And you can learn more and #MakeAGoodwillVow here: https://goodwillvows.org/.
One UPG Champion, Amanda Costa, testifies specifically about her United Voices experience, it is a short and touching testament to see how our work impacts real people: https://youtu.be/2XBQD0S1Hzg
We finished the first-ever Empowered People Index! And we could not believe how beautiful it was. The reception was positive and we continue to learn as we interact with individuals and organisations that care. The insights already guide our actions as they shine a light on what makes a difference in building societies with empowered people; and the feedback and the support will make it even stronger. https://epi.unitedpeople.global/
Next we created our first initiative that focused on our elders, you have to be 65 and over to qualify – and we designed it in a way that is relevant for all of us: Wazee is born. I love this. Our elders are part of the solution to #maketheworldbetter and they are overlooked too often. With Wazee we are listening to wisdom from our elders and you can nominate a beloved elder to participate: https://wazee.unitedpeople.global/
Throughout this time, the team was growing and we continued changing on the inside too. New people, new energy, new ideas – new possibilities. Our Membership Team got fired up and a new wave started with more people joining the Community in one month than had joined in the entire year. We started thinking about whether to push for greater transformation, the unanimous decision was to go for it! Very often as a leader, it is important to follow the people that you lead. And I learned a long time ago, never to doubt my team.
And it was timely, we launched a call for the Class of 2021 of UPG Sustainability Leadership full of energy and ideas to ensure that it enables us to create the next generation of warriors for a better world. And the reception has been profound with over 4,000 applicants from over 150 countries and territories. Once again, it has come to life in a beautiful partnership with the Hurricane Island for Science and Leadership and with visionary and loving support from partners that are incomparable. New partners and collaborators are also coming together to build a stronger initiative. https://upglive.org/UPGSustainability. I am sending love to the special Class of 2019 as they continue to blaze a trail; their weekly updates are a constant source of inspiration, joy, energy and gratitude. Here is a message from Dr. Salman Zubair, #UPGSustainability Leader, Class of 2019.
As we approached the end of the year, the winds picked up and we could hardly believe these numbers:
A Community that we serve
And a Community that serves
To #MakeTheWorldBetter
There are many stars to thank. I especially thank our Board of Trustees, our exceptional partners, our collaborators, UPG Champions, UPG Members and every member of the indomitable UPG Team. The UPG Team is professional, committed, talented, fun and incredibly resolute – we work hard and we laugh hard too; it is a blessing working with this dream team. This year, you will see and hear them, even more than before! One of our brilliant colleagues already started recording messages from the team and I look forward to the world meeting the fine men and women who power the magic.
And now we embrace 2021: where shall we go?
How can we serve you this year?
The Team is already cooking up ideas that make us jump out of bed each morning.
And we would love to hear any ideas that you have.
I wish you a prosperous 2021! We continue to focus on service and I hope that 2021 brings us closer together. This year is special as it is the beginning of the final decade in the march to 2030. It is a decade that must herald deeper transformation towards a more sustainable world; as I outline in a short poem here:
I look forward to serving you and to #makingtheworldbetter, together. Join us: https://unitedpeople.global/join
With love,
Yemi
Yemi Babington-Ashaye
President, United People Global
Iyinoluwa Aboyeji is a Nigerian techpreneur and investor. He is best known as a co- founder of multiple startup companies, including Flutterwave, Future Africa, Talent City and Andela. In 2015, Forbes listed him among the 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs In Africa, and in 2019, New African featured him among the top 100 Most Influential Africans. He cofounded two successful startups in Africa before launching Flutterwave in 2017. With $15.7 million in funding, the payments company is empowering Pan-African merchants to execute business on global scale, processing $1.2 billion in transactions so far.
Aboyeji’s previous startup Andela, gained attention when the venture received $24 million in funding from Mark Zuckerberg. In 2016, he co-founded Flutterwave, an integrated platform for Africans to receive and make payments from anywhere. The fintech company was highly successful, establishing over 50 bank and multinational partners. In 2019, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji became a founding investor in Moove, a Nigerian fintech that provides revenue-based vehicle financing and financial services for mobility entrepreneurs globally. Around the same time, he became a founding investor in Talent City, now known as ITANA. The company helps tech and service-based businesses to access markets in Africa.
After co-founding Future Africa, Aboyeji served as the Deputy Director-General for Oby Ezekwesili’s 2019 presidential campaign. He is also the Co-founder and Chairman of the Talent City Inc, a construction company. On 11 October 2022, Aboyeji was conferred with National Honours Award of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by President Muhammadu Buhari. In November 2024, he was appointed with six others on the Nigeria’s 3MTT Advisory Committee organised by The Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy to improve employability in the digital space in Nigeria.
Currently, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji is a Managing Partner at Accelerate Africa, a company that invests in startups and early-stage SMEs in key sectors, such as agribusiness, technology and renewable energy. He is also a Founding Member of Future Africa, an innovation fund that provides capital, coaching, and community support to bold and visionary leaders.
Metta Kariyani Dewi is a UPG Sustainability Leader from Indonesia. Metta is a seasoned Senior Accountant with over seven years of experience in multinational corporations.
She specializes in managing complex accounting processes and delivering precise financial reports. Her expertise spans financial reporting, compliance, and internal controls, with a proven track record of enhancing reporting accuracy and reducing closing times.
Dewi excels in leveraging ERP systems to streamline operations and provide actionable insights that drive strategic decision-making. Beyond finance, she is deeply passionate about sustainability and climate change, integrating her commitment to environmental responsibility with financial integrity. Thriving in global environments, she actively connects with professionals who share her values while engaging in climate activism.
Suyashi Dwivedi is an entrepreneur and a public servant. She is a UPG Sustainability Leader from India. Suyashi currently serves as Associate Program Officer in the Department of Culture, Madhya Pradesh State Government. She is Chief Executive Officer at Saral Logistic Systems Private Limited. As part of this role, she started a green fuelling station in the Industrial area to fulfil the location’s needs sustainably.
She holds a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science, a specialization in AI made her work towards new tech while at IIT Kanpur in C3I Lab, IIT Indore, BITS Pilani in Disruptive Technology Lab and MIT Momentum, Boston.
She worked in a Gaming company, MADIEE Games, where she got the opportunity to create her own game “SUSTAINATION” which was later presented in SDG Summit, 2023 at the UN Headquarters. She represented the voice of SDG in the 12th regional 3R and Circular Economy Forum in Asia and the Pacific, UNHRC, HESI Forum 2024, and UNY recently.
She was a scholar of the Marching J Scholarship, and she spent one academic year in Japan, 2019-20. Suyashi initiated the project ‘Free Pusthakalaaya’ with the goal of providing access to books and basic educational necessities to students and youth belonging to the middle and lower middle class residing in small towns and rural India. The project is being implemented at local level in every gram panchayat in Madhya Pradesh. Among SDGs, she fights against the inequality of opportunities, lack of information and lack of quality education and all efforts to reduce inequalities.
Professor Emeritus. Richmond, The American International University in London
Professor Dr. Wolfgang Deckers has 35 years teaching experience in a variety of institutes in the UK and abroad giving him an awareness of different education systems.
He teaches on an undergraduate level for a variety of Majors in a non-specialist way. Dr. Deckers emphasizes in his work the correlation between politics and economics on an international level. Dr. Deckers emphasizes the importance of students to enjoy their studies and to challenge their current perspectives and understanding of the world around them. He aims for students to feel motivated to engage on a significant level with the globalized world of which they are part. Dr. Deckers is interested and motivated to teach as a means to tackle injustice and education is a particularly powerful tool for this.
Dr. Deckers likes living in multicultural London and likes traveling to experience other lives.
Roberta da Silveira Moraes is a social entrepreneur from Curitiba, Brazil, with a degree in Law and an MBA in Sustainable Projects and Environmental Innovations (UFPR).
Her international background includes participation in Oxford SCENE – Sustainability, Climate and Environmental Education (University of Oxford) and the Max Thabiso Edkins Climate Ambassadors Program, an initiative of the World Bank and Connect4Climate.
As the Founder and President of the Global Youth Climate Alliance (GYCA) — a not-for- profit organization — Roberta created EDUCLIMA, GYCA’s flagship initiative that trains youth from the Global South in climate education and leadership. EDUCLIMA was incubated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in partnership with Instituto Legado, the German Government (BMZ), Bridge for Billions, and the City of Curitiba. The initiative was recognized with the Legado Award for Social Entrepreneurship.
Acknowledging her strong involvement in the climate agenda, she was among 24 young Brazilians nationally qualified for the role of Presidency Youth Climate Champion (PYCC) for COP30 in Brazil. Currently, Roberta proudly serves on the Board of Directors of United People Global (UPG), as the organization’s only Brazilian representative. She has also been a UPG Sustainability Leader since 2021.
Her mission is to strengthen impact-driven solutions that promote leadership, climate resilience and socio-environmental inclusion, both locally and globally.
Bio forthcoming.
Cherrie Atilano is a farmer who works to empower other farmers. She is the Founder and CEO of AGREA Agricultural Systems International, Inc., an agro-social enterprise that aims to help eradicate poverty for farming and fishing families in order to alleviate the effects of climate change and establish food security in the Philippines. AGREA has been mobilizing communities, businesses, academia, local and national governments, and international partners to bring an “Ecology of Dignity” to farming and fishing communities on the island of Marinduque.
Previously, she worked as a consultant with the Department of Agrarian Reform in the Philippines and helped to form 241 cooperatives of smallholder farmers in the country.
She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including Inspiring Filipina Entrepreneur in 2017, The Outstanding Women in Nation’s Service Award in 2016, and first Awardee of Women of the Future Social Entrepreneur in SouthEast Asia, chosen as one of the ASEAN Emerging Leaders (ANGELS) by Channel News Asia and Visionary in Asia by Japan NHK World News.
Amadou Mahtar Ba is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of AllAfrica Global Media, Inc. AllAfrica owns and operates allafrica.com, an international multi-media content service provider, systems technology developer and the largest distributor of African news and information worldwide. He is also the Founder of the African Media Initiative (AMI), a pan-African effort he established and led until 2014 to provide the continent’s media owners and practitioners with the tools they need to play a stronger leadership role in their communities, countries and the region.
Prior to AllAfrica and AMI, Mr. Ba served as Director of Communications and Marketing for BICIS Bank, a subsidiary of the French banking group BNP Paribas and helped lead the successful restructuring and privatization of the Pan African News Agency (PANA).
Ba is a champion of the role of the media, good governance, women’s empowerment, technology and innovation and he has served on several international Boards and working groups. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, Forbes listed him as one of “The Top 10 Most Powerful Men in Africa” in February 2014. EXPO 2015 and Afronline awarded Mr. Ba the 2012 African Media Prize acknowledging his “outstanding contribution to African Media and his skills on promoting innovation among African Media.”
Martin Chungong serves as the Secretary General of the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU). He has more than three decades of experience and knowledge of parliaments at national and international level, Chungong has dedicated his professional life to promoting and building democracy worldwide. He contributed to establishing governance benchmarks to strengthen democracy, as chair of the Management Committee on Accountability of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Governance Network. Since 2012, Mr Chungong has made a push to strengthen parliamentary engagement on sustainable development and accountability through his role as Parliamentary Representative on the Steering Committee of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation. An awardee of the Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Pléiade, Ordre de la Francophonie, and a linguist by training
Daisy Guo is the Co-founder and CMO of Tezign.com, a platform based creative marketplace & workflow solution.With a mission to revolutionize the relationship between clients and creative professionals, Tezign has brought together over 2,000 projects, from major clients such as land developer SOHO China, Greenland Group, and the film production company H.Brothers. Guo is an artist at heart and a graduate of China’s Central Academy of Fine Arts, she holds a Bachelors in Landscape Architecture. She has curated art exhibits worldwide, including as part of the curating team for the Chinese pavilion at Venice Biennale 2012.
Juliette-Marie Somerset is currently the CEO & Managing Partner at Somerset Capital based in Silicon Valley, where she oversees global investments in disruptive technologies and serves actively on game-changing tech startups Boards and Advisory Councils. Her investment and venture capital career spans over two decades, including executive roles in New York City on Wall Street in investment banking and portfolio management.
Juliette-Marie Somerset is focusing on three tech sectors: ClimateTech, FinTech and AI. She is investing, advising and
mentoring innovative startups and fostering growth in cutting-edge industries. The professional network of Fintech women and her peers in New York City honored her at the NYSE as a leading female Fintech role-model and leader. She has been a guest lecturer in finance at Haas Business School based in Berkeley, California and a visiting lecturer in Blockchain Technology at ESCP Business School based in Berlin, Germany.
Juliette-Marie Somerset has spent the past decade as a mentor, advisor at the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center based in San Francisco, Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale University (Tsai City) and Norrsken Impact Accelerator based in Stockholm, Sweden accelerating climate-tech solutions and partnering with global entrepreneurs. She has provided mentorship to environmentalists and innovators nominated for the prestigious The Earthshot Prize founded by Prince William, The Prince of Wales and the Royal Foundation.
She began championing the international rights and protection of children as a UNICEF volunteer in New York City nearly 30 years ago. Sustainable global impact and advancing gender equality are her professional and personal North Star. Juliette-Marie Somerset speaks regularly at International Women’s Day global events and How Women Lead board mentorship and networking conferences. She was educated at Yale University, Columbia University in New York City and All Souls College in England.