Charlot Magayi

organization overview

Mukuru Clean Stoves (MCS) designs, manufactures, and distributes improved, efficient, and reliable cookstoves. MCS makes its stoves with locally sourced recycled metal and distributes them through networks of local women business owners and microfinance institutions. MCS’s vision is to significantly reduce household air pollution in underserved markets in Africa.

Personal Bio

Charlot is a 2022 Earthshot Prize Winner and founder of Mukuru Clean Stoves. Orphaned at 10 and a mother by 16, she grew up in Mukuru, one of Nairobi’s largest slums. After her daughter was burned by a traditional stove, Charlot set out to fight household air pollution, energy poverty, and malaria. Her organization has manufactured and distributed over 600,000 life-saving stoves, improving the lives of 3 million people in Africa and recently launched a patented malaria fighting fuel.

Charlot’s groundbreaking work has earned recognition from the World Bank, United Nations, and Global Citizen. In 2024, she was named a Forbes Sustainability Leader and one of the Independent Climate 100. She is an Echoing Green Fellow, Schmidt Futures Fellow, Cartier Fellow, and Africa Business Hero. Her accolades include the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award, One Young World Entrepreneur of the Year and Forbes Africa Youth Icon. Charlot was named a 2023 Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst and sits on the boards of three international funds. William the Prince of Wales calls her “the Queen of Africa.”