Individual

Rising Star of the Year

The Rising Star of the Year Award honours an individual who, despite being relatively new to their industry or area of expertise, has already made a significant impact by showcasing exceptional dedication, innovation, & skill.

Future40 Members

Anish Daddar
Founder and Director, EcoSource
Antoinette Vandy
Founder, AgrekaBuild
Chioma Wilson-Dike
Co-founder, Lexlytic
Ekene Ukemenam
Founder, Aerial Icon
Gabriella Anderson
Founder, Braids Gang
Anish Daddar

Anish Daddar

EcoSource is a UK-based sustainable packaging company helping businesses eliminate plastic and PFAS from their supply chains. Since launching in 2023, they've grown organically to over £1.5M in revenue, supplying certified compostable, recyclable, and plastic-free packaging to global brands including ABInBev & Hyatt Regency. With manufacturing rooted in the UK and international expansion across the US, EU, and UAE, EcoSource is on a mission to make sustainability scalable - proving that high-volume packaging can be both eco-friendly and commercially viable.
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Antoinette Vandy

Antoinette Vandy

Antoinette Yetunde Vandy is an award-winning RIBA II architectural designer, educator, and founder of Agreka Build, a pioneering startup advancing regenerative construction. With a focus on sustainable innovation and community-driven design, her work bridges construction and agriculture to address the climate crisis. Co-founded at the Imperial College London Climate Entrepreneurs Pre-Accelerator alongside My Linh Nguyen and Han Ming Lai, Agreka Build transforms agricultural waste into high-performance building materials. Its flagship innovation, WHEATEX®—a thermal wall cavity insulation made from waste wheat straw—demonstrates the potential of circular economy solutions to decarbonise the built environment and reshape the future of sustainable construction.
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Chioma Wilson-Dike

Chioma Wilson-Dike

Chioma Wilson-Dike is a Nigerian-born lawyer turned RegTech founder building the future of regulatory infrastructure. Drawing on experience at Aluko & Oyebode, adidas, and KPMG UK, she co-founded Lexlytic in 2025—an AI-powered legal intelligence platform that transforms complex laws into real-time, actionable insights for compliance teams across Africa and the UK. Currently in beta, Lexlytic has secured LOIs from enterprise clients, earned “Best Pitch” recognition at the Cambridge–Stanford Hack the Law Finals, and was selected for Web Summit’s ALPHA program (top 2,000 out of 12,000 startups). Recognised as one of the 100 Leaders Shaping Africa by Crest Africa and preselected for the Women in Africa Young Leaders Program, Chioma leads strategy, product, and partnerships—while raising a toddler in London.
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Ekene Ukemenam

Ekene Ukemenam

Ekene Ukemenam is a Chartered Aerospace Engineer and the Founder of Aerial Icon, a deep tech company using AI to create immersive 360° environments for mental health therapy. Inspired by his own experiences with mental health challenges, Ekene developed Ubidio, the company’s flagship platform that enables users to generate ultra-realistic VR environments through simple prompts. Aerial Icon’s current focus, UbiFloat, is designed to support treatment for depression, anxiety, phobias, and PTSD. Backed by over £310,000 in UK innovation grants, partnerships with the NHS and academic institutions, and upcoming clinical trials, Aerial Icon is on a mission to transform global mental health care.
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Gabriella Anderson

Gabriella Anderson

Gabriella Anderson is the Founder of Braids Gang, a global platform and digital community empowering women and girls through the celebration of textured hair, beauty, and self-love. What began as her journey to overcome hair loss has grown into a vibrant community of nearly 600,000 followers, reaching over 120 million people worldwide. Braids Gang has collaborated with brands including Dyson, Cantu, and The Mane Choice, amplifying representation in the beauty industry. Featured in ELLE, Essence, and Cosmopolitan, Gabriella also mentors at Our Pain 2 Power CIC, supporting youth programs in self-love, confidence, and career advancement.
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Other awards

Tech Innovation of the Year
Changemaker of the Year
Social Impact Leader of the Year
Consumer Brand of the Year
Businesswoman of the Year
Rising Star of the Year
Ally of the Year
Director’s Choice Award
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