How these growing businesses are making their mark

These businesses have led their field and made major changes while doing so. A Kenyan health project is bringing cancer care and screening to countless women who never had access. A California-based company is making schools phone free, revitalizing behavior, attendance, and even test scores. A Florida company is designing solar-powered, hurricane-proof streetlamps and installing them across the state. Whether global, national, or local, these businesses know what their audience needs and are shaping novel solutions. Winners The Afya Dada Project, Xenco MedicalAfya Dada—which means “Health for sisters” in Swahili—is a Kenyan government-led and community-powered initiative to improve breast and cervical cancer prevention across the country. In the past year, the initiative redesigned national training curricula on breast and cervical cancer, training more than 100 community health assistants, 500 community health promoters, and 200 nurses in advanced screening and diagnostic services. By mobilizing over 100,000 Kenyan certified health practitioners, the country is expanding long-term cancer-awareness infrastructure to rural Kenyan communities and creating a blueprint for other sub-Saharan African countries. Phone-free spaces, YondrSmartphones have changed the way humans think, interact, and engage—especially for students. Yondr gives 2.5 million students a school-day break from these devices, and schools have reported improved safety, behavior, and attention. Teachers and administrators note better attendance and fewer fights, and students feel more comfortable at school. Yondr’s phone-free model even improves student success: A year after implementing Yondr’s lockable pouches, a Kentucky high school recorded 1,015 fewer failed classes and a 7% increase in state test results. Honorable Mention Shine on Florida, Streetleaf Explore the full list of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas, 191 projects that are making the world more accessible, equitable, and sustainable.