2024: Year In Review
Now more than ever the world needs leaders who act with courage and moral conviction. At Equitech Futures, we dedicate ourselves to finding and nurturing these exceptional individuals—the visionaries of tomorrow who are already confronting humanity's most daunting challenges.
As we wrap up the first quarter of 2025, I want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible strides we made together over the last year. In 2024, Equitech Futures launched a new Venture Studio to support ambitious innovators from around the world who are building AI for the public benefit. In collaboration with the Rhodes Trust at Oxford, we hosted the Kevin Xu Innovation Challenge to surface new ideas that will shape our AI-driven future.
Some highlights from 2024:
Democratizing Opportunities: Our global network of scholars are driving change in their communities by using technology to democratize educational opportunities. For example, Equitech Scholar Labbi Karmacharya launched “Digital Kala” a one-stop scholarship platform for Nepalese students. (Read more)
Fostering Excellence: Our alumni continue to excel on the global stage— three Equitech Scholars were awarded the prestigious Chevening Scholarship to study in the UK. Ekeno Lokwakai from Kenya was awarded the McCall MacBain Scholarship to study at McGill University in Montreal. (Read more)
In 2025 we are excited to continue building our efforts to support technologists building new tools to tackle global challenges. We are also launching two new initiatives to accelerate our ambitions:
The Equitech Futures Institute Oxford (EFI Oxford): Established in collaboration with the Technology and Society Forum at the Rhodes Trust, EFI Oxford will be a four-week intensive summer program in residence at the University of Oxford. EFI Oxford will cultivate a network of future entrepreneurs, researchers, and civic leaders who are equipped to use emerging technologies to tackle global challenges.
The Futures Society: This new membership community is bringing together senior and mid-career leaders from business, government, and academia to catalyze new partnerships and facilitate cross-generational bridge between the leaders of today and the leaders of tomorrow.
None of this would have been possible without the support of our incredible community of donors, faculty, and partners. We are deeply grateful for the support of the Kevin Xu Initiative and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation as well as our partners at the Rhodes Trust and the Science and Society Program at the Aspen Institute whose belief in our mission continues to propel us forward.Thank you for being part of this journey—we can’t wait for what’s next!
Sincerely,
Abhilash Mishra