John Nyagwencha
John Nyagwencha is the chief executive of Aqua Clara Kenya (ACK), a B-Corp social enterprise turning ceramic and biosand technology into safe water for underserved households. Since taking the helm in 2017 he has built a last-mile network across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, reaching 300,000 people with clean water and training 250,000 on hygiene. ACK has sold 25,000 household and community filters, avoided 176,000 t of CO2 by reducing wood burning, and tracks usage on the mWater platform, sustaining ninety-seven per cent user satisfaction.
In 2024 he secured an Impact-Linked Finance agreement with Aqua for All that ties €300 000 in rewards to growth among low-income customers, and partnered with Danone Communities and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship to scale hubs that will serve one million people by 2027. He also launched Aqua Clara Solutions, a for-profit factory supplying filters to NGOs, schools and micro-finance agents, and now explores carbon-credit financing.
A microbiology graduate of Egerton University with an MSc in environmental engineering, Nyagwencha is an Acumen Fellow and a 2024 Business Daily Top 40 Under 40 honouree. He advises Africa CDC on water safety, mentors WASH start-ups through Miller Center, and advocates for carbon finance to close the continent’s gap.
