The five winners of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise will now receive funding to implement their pioneering projects
Since 1976, the Rolex Awards for Enterprise have celebrated exceptional individuals with innovative projects, designed to improve our knowledge of the world; protect the environment; help preserve habitats and species; and improve human well-being.
The five Laureates of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise for 2023 have now been announced, each a pioneer in their field. The awards are given to projects focusing on either the environment; science and health; applied technology; cultural heritage; and exploration. The projects are judged on their originality and the impact they could have on the world at large, as well as on the candidates’ spirit of enterprise.
Five Laureates are chosen every two years. They each receive funding to implement their project and become a member of the Rolex Laureates network, many of whom still collaborate today. Find out more about the new laureates below:
CONSTANTINO AUCCA CHUTAS
The biologist will be scaling up his community-centred forest ecosystem restoration and protection programme in the high Andes. He founded Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos (ECOAN) in 2000 and co-founded Accion Andina in 2018, and has planted 4.5 million trees, engaged more than 60 local communities, and created 16 protected areas in the mountains across Peru and other high Andean countries
BETH KOIGI
The young Kenyan social entrepreneur will be providing solar powered generators harvesting water from the air to 3,000 people in 10 communities who are in need of clean water resources. Since co-founding her start-up in 2017, Koigi’s atmospheric water generators have produced more than 200,000 litres of clean water a month for more than 1,900 people. The potential impact of this innovative technology is enormous; in Koigi’s native Kenya, half the population lack access to clean drinking water while, according to the UN, half the world’s population could be living in areas of high water stress by 2030.
INZA KONĖ
The primatologist will be protecting a richly biodiverse forest in Côte d’Ivoire while safeguarding its endangered fauna and reducing poverty in the area. After years of work with people in the area, Koné’s efforts resulted in the Tanoe-Ehy Forest becoming a community-managed natural reserve in 2021. The Rolex Award will enable Koné to continue preserving its outstanding biodiversity, supporting community management and encouraging sustainable livelihoods for people in the region.
DENICA RIADINI-FLESCH
The social entrepreneur will be expanding her regenerative farm-to-closet clothing supply chain, strengthening women’s empowerment and preserving local Indonesian cultures. After a successful academic career as an economist, Riadini-Flesch founded SukkhaCitta, working with rural craftswomen in Indonesia to provide them with business skills, environmental stewardship education, and customers in 32 countries.
LIU SHAOCHUANG
The remote sensing specialist will be studying wild camels’ habitats in view of creating two new conservation reserves to save the last remaining wild herds. Drawing on his scientific expertise, having played a key role in developing China’s Lunar and Mars rovers, Liu Shaochuang will satellite track wild camels in the Gobi Desert regions of China and Mongolia to support their future conservation.
The Rolex Awards for Enterprise
The Rolex Awards for Enterprise were set up in 1976 to mark the 50th anniversary of the world’s first waterproof wristwatch, the Oyster. Intended to be a one-off celebration, the Awards drew such international attention that Rolex transformed them into a biennial programme that has, in 48 years since its creation, supported 160 Laureates, whose projects have had a profound impact across 65 countries. The Rolex Awards for Enterprise are part of Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative and embody the initiative’s intricate values.
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Related articles:
- Read all about previous Rolex laureate Krithi Karanth and her simple solution for mitigating human-wildlife conflict in India
