As a Judge of the Reckitt Access Accelerator, a social-impact partnership between Reckitt and Yunus Social Business focused on scaling social enterprises in the fields of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and sexual and reproductive health, I was honoured to attend the session Spark to Catalyst – Driving Innovation for Lasting Change at the One Young World Summit Munich 2025. Led by Hamzah Sarwar, Global Head of Social Impact & Innovation at Reckitt, and featuring Nida Yousaf Sheikh, CEO of Tayaba Welfare International Association, one of the Access Accelerator awardees, the presentation highlighted how the accelerator is advancing pioneering ideas to scalable, high-impact solutions that are transforming access to health and hygiene across emerging markets.

Nida’s organisation, Tayaba Welfare International Association, has developed the groundbreaking H₂O Wheel, a water-transport innovation that improves access, safety, and dignity for women and families in rural Pakistan, alongside new solar- and atmospheric-water-generation systems by H2O Technologies, which transform humidity into clean, drinkable water, and an expanding hygiene-kit distribution network. These advances exemplify Reckitt’s mission to make access to health and hygiene a universal right, and the Accelerator’s vision of empowering women-led, underserved-market and climate-resilient enterprises.

I was particularly moved by Hamzah’s reflection on his mother’s legacy as a community leader. This story powerfully illustrates how personal purpose and social responsibility can shape transformative corporate innovation.

By participating as a Global Jury Member in the Access Accelerator and as a Counsellor at the One Young World 2025, I reaffirm my commitment through the Wellbeing Foundation Africa to

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Toyin Saraki (@toyinsaraki)

ensuring that entrepreneurial innovation, corporate purpose and community-led design converge to create durable change, not just for today, but for generations to come.