A primatologist, a social entrepreneur, a scientist, and a tree-planting activist are this year's recipients of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, given to people who've gone above and beyond to make the world a better place.
The awards, created in 1976 to mark the 50th anniversary of the world's first waterproof wristwatch, have since turned into a biennial program that's supported 160 laureates over the past 48 years, Rolex says in a press release.
The recipients, chosen by a panel of 10 world-renowned experts and leaders in their field, will each receive $1 million to fund their projects over the next two years.
Among the winners: ConSTANTINO AUCCACHUTAS: The Peruvian biologist's community-centered forest ecosystem restoration and protection program will see him scale up in the high Andes, where he's planted 4.5 million trees and created 16 protected areas.
BETH KOIGI: Since co-founding her start-up in 2017, the Kenyan social entrepreneur has been providing solar-powered generators harvesting water from air to 3,000 people in 10 communities who are in need of clean water resources.
Liu Shaochuang: The remote sensing specialist will be studying wild camels in the Gobi Desert to save the last remaining wild herds.
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles, an agreement signed by 34 banks, including the original eight of the nation’s leading banks, that covered nine key areas: environmental and social risk management, environmental and social footprint, human rights, women’s economic empowerment, financial inclusion, environmental and social governance, capacity building, collaborative partnerships and reporting.