Sasha Fisher was 21 when she co-founded Spark Microgrants an organisation turning the traditional aid models upside down. Now 26, she's a Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur, and has developed Spark into an Foundation spanning three countries: Rwanda, Uganda and Burunda. The Spark model has enabled 111 East African communities to choose, develop, and run their own aid projects, with a start-up grant from Spark, and facilitated by local university students. Sasha Fisher says local ownership of the projects is what has led to high sustainability, longevity, and female participation rates. Sasha dreams of seeing communities put in charge of the aid and development process worldwide, which she says will bring more communities out of poverty. She is on a US Embassy-sponsored visit to New Zealand to speak at Festival for the Future and the Young Leaders of the Pacific conference.
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