We are delighted to welcome this year’s cohort of Cambridge Mastercard Foundation Scholars to Darwin.
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme at the University of Cambridge is designed to provide students from under-represented communities in Africa with fully-funded opportunities to complete their master’s training, grow their leadership potential, and contribute to climate resilience and sustainability efforts.
From top left, Darwin’s Mastercard Foundation Scholars 2026 are as follows:
Divina Achieng is an education advocate, researcher, and development practitioner from Kenya. She is pursuing an MPhil in Education, Globalisation and International Development.
Divina’s research seeks to understand the impact of climate-induced displacement on girls’ learning and out-of-school rates in informal settlements in Kenya. She aspires to use these findings to identify critical gaps, establish a social-impact venture, and collaborate with international development organisations to create transformative opportunities for women and girls.
Mabel Agba holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences (Economics & Mathematics) from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. She has over a decade of professional experience in the management and coordination of projects in community development, pro-biodiversity value chains and Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBRNM). Her passion lies at the intersection of environment and sustainable development. Mabel is pursuing an MPhil in Conservation Leadership to enhance her capacity to address the environmental challenges in Ghana and accelerate community-led resource management in Africa.
Joseph Oloche Anthony is a Nigerian public health professional and management consultant passionate about strengthening health systems. He holds a First-Class degree in Biochemistry from the Federal University Dutsin-ma, Nigeria, and has contributed to national initiatives that support HPV vaccination for over 15 million adolescent girls.
Joseph is pursuing an MPhil in Population Health Sciences with a thematic focus on Global Health and Health Data Science.
Emmanuel Konadu holds a first-class in Geography and Rural Development from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana.
As a research assistant and volunteer, he has contributed to studies on climate adaptation, ageing populations, and environmental sustainability, as well as working alongside communities to navigate environmental and climate challenges.
Emmanuel is pursuing an MPhil in Global Risk and Resilience and intends to apply interdisciplinary approaches to global risk mitigation that strengthen climate resilience across Africa.
Daphne Magela is a Malawian biomedical engineer with a first-class degree in Biomedical Engineering. As an Innovation Specialist at Save the Children, she applied human-centred design and systems thinking to co-create solutions with government, communities, and the private sector.
Daphne is pursuing an MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development to advance locally led innovation for resilient communities across Africa.
Privintiva Teriano Soit is a conservation and governance professional with seven years of experience in wildlife conservancy administration and human resource management. She holds an LLB from the University of Nairobi and an LLM from Unicaf University.
Privintiva is pursuing an MPhil in Conservation Leadership, where she aims to deepen her work in conservation governance and community-based natural resource management.
Alice Wachera is a Structural Engineer with over five years of experience delivering building and road infrastructure projects in Kenya. She is pursuing an MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development.
Alice’s interests focus on low-carbon design, sustainable construction policy, and circular economy approaches, with emphasis on accelerating the adoption of low-carbon materials such as timber and rammed earth to support the transition to net zero.
