In a powerful celebration of innovation and community-driven impact, Taibat Hussain, a Nigerian social entrepreneur and agricultural innovator, has been named the winner of the Global Impact for Sustainability Award 2024. The award ceremony, held in Abuja, Nigeria, recognized changemakers who are leading transformative efforts toward sustainable development across the globe.
Hussain was honored for her pioneering work empowering smallholder women farmers through aquaponics, organic food production, and access to green finance using digital tools. Her initiative, based in rural communities across Nigeria, has enabled hundreds of women to secure sustainable incomes, improve nutrition, and build climate resilience.
“I’m deeply honored to receive this award,” Hussain said during her acceptance speech. “It’s a recognition of the power of local solutions, community leadership, and what’s possible when women are given the tools to succeed.”
Since its inception, her initiative has directly impacted over 350 women, helping them grow food using water-efficient, soil-free aquaponics systems—making farming possible even in areas with limited land and water. Beyond farming, Hussain has introduced simple tech solutions that allow women to build informal credit histories and access green microloans, connecting them to funding they previously had no access to.
The award jury commended her approach as “a bold, scalable model that blends environmental sustainability, women’s empowerment, and grassroots innovation in one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions.”
With an estimated 1,500 indirect beneficiaries, her work is reshaping what sustainable agriculture can look like in the context of Africa’s rural economies—affordable, tech-enabled, and led by women.
Hussain has now joined a distinguished circle of Global Impact for Sustainability Award recipients, further solidifying her role as a leading voice in Africa’s sustainable development space.
Her vision for the future is ambitious: scaling her model to reach more communities across West Africa, building networks of women-led, climate-smart farms, and continuing to advocate for inclusive food systems that leave no one behind.
