Meagan Fallone is a social entrepreneur currently leading the Schwab Foundation’s Global Coalition for AI and Social Innovation.
Since 2010, her work has focused on the intersection of climate, human development and technology. She has led both for-profit and not-for-profit organisations to global scale. Meagan is currently leading the development of the Schwab Foundation’s Global Coalition for AI and Social Innovation at the World Economic Forum.
She is the 2018 New Zealand Hillary Institute Laureate, recognised for her global leadership in climate change, poverty reduction, social justice and the economic empowerment of women. She has positively impacted more than 10 million women and girls globally and is a member of the Schwab Foundation’s Social Entrepreneur community.
Meagan founded StepUp Advisers in 2007. StepUp works with high-impact enterprises to drive significant growth and scale while building stronger leadership teams and long-term strategies for the financial sustainability of value-generating enterprises. The organisation is dedicated to achieving systems-change outcomes and encouraging collaboration among social and nature entrepreneurs, companies and governments to deliver optimal outcomes and impact. Its work draws on deep experience in leadership, climate, education, agriculture, technology, health and renewable energy.
She is the award-winning former co-founder and CEO Emeritus of Barefoot College International, now Bindi International, which won the WISE Award for innovation in education. Bindi International, alongside its founding organisation, Barefoot College, works across 93 countries and has established five locally led and independently operated Barefoot Colleges in collaboration with governments in the Global South. Its flagship programme has provided renewable energy access to more than 1.6 million people through the training of semi-literate rural women.
Meagan is a coach and mentor to Earthshot Prize finalists. She has recently published a book on the financing of longevity and delivered a TED Talk on the convergence of AI and longevity science. She has served as CARE USA’s first Entrepreneur in Residence and Executive Director of Climate Justice. She is a digital product designer and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global AI Governance Taskforce. Her award-winning digital application, Soli, which supports illiterate smallholder farmers in India, won the prestigious Webby Award in 2021.
Meagan currently sits on the High-Level Expert Group for the United Nations Climate and SDG Synergy working track, overseen by UNFCCC and UNDESA. The expert group recently launched a global report, Synergy Solutions for a World in Crisis: Tackling Climate and SDGs Together, along with thematic reports on climate finance, knowledge and data, policy frameworks, and cities.
