These Africans are changing the world — and they're all under 40

This year's awardees recognized for making considerable contributions to their field and society,are all under the age of 40, and 15 of them are from Africa.

The Young Global Leaders class includes leaders from an array of backgrounds. Some are political and and community leaders, others are inventors, CEOs, philanthropists, and scientists working on revolutionary ideas.

Here are the 15 African leaders making a worldwide impact.

Aarti Takoordeen |South Africa

Aarti is CFO of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange who is passionate about breaking the mould of traditional finance professionals.

Jesse Moore | Kenya

Jesse is the Co-Founder of M-Kopa, a pay-as-you-go energy provider for off-grid customers. It has connected hundreds of thousands of homes in East Africa to solar power.

Abdourahmane Cisse | Côte d'Ivoire

The youngest minister in the Ivoirian government, Abdourahmane is the minister for Budget and State Owned Entities of Cote d'Ivoire.

Billy Mawasha | South Africa

A champion for ethics in a major multinational mining company;Anglo American Plc, Billy functioning as the executive head of operations and integration has led initiatives to enhance workplace safety and to engage with local communities.

Chido Govera | Zimbabwe

Orphaned at the age of seven, she escaped a life of poverty and abuse in rural Zimbabwe. Now she's an activist, teaching mushroom cultivation to thousands of people in Eastern and Southern Africa and other developing countries across the world.

Jamila Abass | Kenya

Jamilla set up a social enterprise at age 26. Her company M-Farm, gives small subsistence farmers vital market information via SMS and helps them reach buyers. Her work has empowered 100,000 farmers to collectively improve market access and bargaining power.

Lois Auta | Nigeria

An advocate for disabled people's rights in Nigeria, Lois heads a foundation active in community work in the fields of education, capacity building, and democratic empowerment.

Marie Lora-Mungai | Kenya

After working as a journalist, Marie founded Restless Global, a company focused on producing African stories for an international audience. Previously, she also founded Buni.tv, one of the pioneers of African video-on-demand.

Mmusi Aloysias Maimane | South Africa

Soweto-born Mmusi is the head of South Africa's largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, where he was elected with 90% party support.

Mouhamed Moustapha Fall | Senegal

One of Africa's top scientists and a winner of the prestigious Humboldt Fellowship, Mouhamed is Chair of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Senegal.

Naisula Lesuuda | Kenya

The youngest woman in Kenya's parliament and a leading advocate for women's rights in the region.

Neema Kaseje | Kenya

A paediatric surgeon dedicated to providing universal access to healthcare and safe and timely surgery for children in the most vulnerable areas in the world.

Rapelang Rabana | Botswana

Rapelang is a tech entrepreneur who runs an education company that uses innovative digital and online tools to enhance learning.

Faten Kallel | Tunisia

She is the energetic newly appointed Secretary of State for Youth in the new Tunisian government.

Mohamed Alami Berrada | Morocco

He leads one of the fastest growing real estate development companies in Morocco. He works with youth on political and social engagement through his TIZI Initiative, a non-partisan and independent incubator for future Moroccan leaders.