Food4Education (F4E) founder and CEO Wawira Njiru has been named to the TIME100 Next list, joining a group of rising global leaders recognised for their influence and work in transforming communities.
Njiru, a Kenyan innovator pioneering locally rooted school feeding, was listed in the Advocates and Changemakers category of the annual list.
She is one of two Kenyans featured in this year’s TIME100 Next, alongside Gilgil MP Martha Wangari, who was listed under the Leadership category.
The 2026 list was unveiled at the sixth annual TIME100 Next event in New York City.
TIME’s profile of Njiru traces the growth of Food4Education from a single kitchen serving 25 children to an operation providing over 600,000 meals every day to children in more than 1,500 schools across Kenya.
The not-for-profit social enterprise has expanded its operations through hundreds of kitchens, thousands of employees and networks of farmers, technology providers and distribution partners.
TIME highlighted Njiru’s approach to school feeding, describing the model as “scalable, financially savvy, and built around a dignity seldom afforded to people in need.”
The profile was written by South African television host and multiple award winner Trevor Noah, who praised Njiru’s leadership and business approach.
“If Wawira Njiru were running a multinational conglomerate, I have no doubt she would be celebrated as one of the most formidable business leaders of her generation,” Noah wrote.
TIME also highlighted the wider economic impact of the Food4Education model, noting that the organisation uses local procurement and employment to strengthen communities while providing meals to schoolchildren.
The organisation’s approach has also attracted interest from African governments looking for ways to improve school nutrition and education outcomes.
Njiru’s recognition by TIME comes two years after Food4Education was included in the 2024 TIME100 Companies list.
The latest recognition places her among 100 people TIME says are shaping the future across different fields and communities.
TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs said TIME100 Next, which was launched in 2019, was created to recognise leaders whose influence comes from outside traditional power structures.
“This year’s listmakers are pushing boundaries, creating new possibilities, and advancing their fields and communities around the world,” TIME CEO Jessica Sibley said.
This year’s list focuses on areas including access to education, artificial intelligence, immigration and emerging forms of political leadership.
Other figures named alongside Njiru in the Advocates and Changemakers category include Shabana Basij-Rasikh, Julian Aguon, Kaley Glenn-Mills, Gretchen Goldman, Skye Duncan, Isidora Uribe Silva, Pavel Talankin, Claudia Queragama, Conchita Cruz, Swapna Reddy, Ronaldo Salgado, Lorenzo Salgado Jr., Olsi Nika and Besjana Guri.
Wangari, the other Kenyan on the list, was recognised under Leadership for her work on access to identity documents.
TIME said Wangari last year pushed through legislation requiring the government to establish more than 100 additional registry offices and affirming identity documents as a right for every citizen.
“About 800 million people worldwide still lack vital documents, including about 19 per cent of sub-Saharan Africans, according to World Bank estimates,” TIME noted.
TIME said Wangari had taken “one crucial step in Kenya” but added that more work remained to address the global challenge.
