Small businesses don't just serve their communities. They shape them.
For these businesses, supporting communities and addressing environmental challenges are central to their work.
Global Citizen and PayPal created the Small Business Impact Awards to support entrepreneurs addressing social or environmental challenges. This year, 15 small business owners across four regions will each receive $20,000 USD to help grow their businesses.
Their work ranges from turning food waste into economic opportunity to developing sign language technology that supports access to services.
It's all part of something bigger: PayPal's goal to help 25 million people and small businesses with resources, skills, and training to thrive in the digital economy by 2030.
United States and Canada
Michelle Adelman | Founder and CEO, Crossover Meats (United States)
Michelle Adelman brings 22 years of corporate experience at Accenture to Crossover Meats. She developed patented hybrid meat products that blend lean chicken with beef or lamb, delivering the taste of red meat with more protein, less fat, and a 50% smaller environmental footprint.
Amrita Bhasin | Founder and CEO, Sotira (United States)
Amrita Bhasin is a Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Impact and OpenAI Futures honoree. She built Sotira, an AI-powered platform that helps companies redirect surplus inventory away from landfills and toward nonprofits and secondary markets.
Anu Bidani | Founder and CEO, STEM Minds Corp. (Canada)
Anu Bidani brings more than 20 years of experience in education, technology, and entrepreneurship to STEM Minds, a Canadian social enterprise providing education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), artificial intelligence (AI), and agricultural technology to young people and communities.
Lawrence Miller | Founder, Trek for Vets Coffee (United States)
Lawrence Miller is a service-disabled U.S. Marine Reconnaissance veteran. He built Trek for Vets Coffee around his own treks across Michigan, using coffee sales and community events to help veterans build social connections and fund veteran-focused programs.
Dr. Diana Yousef | Founder and CEO, change:WATER Labs (United States)
Dr. Diana Yousef draws on two decades of experience at McKinsey, the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in her work to expand sanitation access.. At change:WATER Labs, she developed the iThrone, a waterless, sewerless toilet for communities without safe plumbing.
Europe
Fatma Guettou | Founder, Watoto Arts (Sweden)
Fatma Guettou founded Watoto Arts so children can see themselves in their toys. The Swedish company designs textile dolls representing different skin tones, disabilities, and medical conditions, while creating employment pathways for women in Sweden.
Dr. Ona Newton | Founder, RLKids: Recycled Learning for Kids (United Kingdom)
Dr. Ona Newton, an education specialist and AI strategist, is highly commended at the 2026 BESA Awards. RLKids prepares children ages 7 to 14 for an AI-enabled world through books, workshops, and a digital learning platform.
Mamunur Rashid | Founder, AequiSym AI (United Kingdom)
Mamunur Rashid brings 18 years of healthcare AI experience from King's College London and the Wellcome Sanger Institute. His company built AmarDoctor, a digital health platform making primary care more accessible to Bengali-speaking communities in Bangladesh.
Laura Stembridge | Founder, InsideOut (United Kingdom)
Laura Stembridge founded InsideOut to close the gap in accessible, preventative mental healthcare. She leads development of Remi, an AI-enabled well-being coach offering support informed by cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness techniques supported by text and phone, 24/7.
Latin America
Eleanor Lawrence | Founder, Green Mama Compost (Guatemala)
Eleanor Lawrence holds a master's degree in public health and brings a decade of NGO experience to address organic waste management in Guatemala. Green Mama Compost is a women-led enterprise that turns organic waste into nutrient-rich compost for households, schools, and businesses in Antigua.
Marina Meloni | Founder, MINA Solar Energy and Sustainability (Brazil)
Marina Meloni is a geologist, sustainability specialist, and 2025 Shell Iniciativa Jovem winner. MINA Solar Energy builds solar photovoltaic systems for communities across Brazil, including favelas and Quilombola territories.
Africa
Ankunda Recho | Co-Founder and Head of Business Growth, Helton Traders Limited (Uganda)
Ankunda Recho co-founded Helton Traders with Munyasa Hellen and Ssembatya Paddy. The company turns plastic bottle waste into sustainable polyester sewing thread, creating jobs for women and young people who collect plastic waste. s.
Jovia Kisaakye | Founder, Nutrigrab / Ecobed Biotech (Uganda)
Jovia Kisaakye is a biotechnology entrepreneur who developed a mosquito repellent from spoiled milk as a student researcher. Nutrigrab's AI-powered app connects farmers and businesses across Uganda, turning food waste into economic opportunity.
Faith Kuya | CEO, SafeSip (Tanzania)
Faith Kuya founded SafeSip to improve access to clean water in rural Tanzania. Its solar-powered WaterBanks deliver safe, affordable water to off-grid communities.
Branice Kazira | Co-Founder, Signvrse (Kenya)
Branice Kazira co-founded Signvrse, a Kenyan deep-tech accessibility platform. Its technology uses 3D avatars to translate speech into sign language, helping Deaf and hard-of-hearing people access spoken information.