Meet 25 innovators building economic opportunity with AI

September 2025

Twenty-five ambitious nonprofits are stepping into a new frontier: harnessing AI to unlock fairer, faster, and more inclusive economic systems. Selected for the AI for Changemakers Economic Opportunity Cohort, these organizations will develop AI-powered solutions to expand livelihoods, financial inclusion, and resilience across the globe.

From training women for digital jobs to reinventing access to microloans, each initiative addresses a different barrier to opportunity. Together, they show how AI can do more than optimize — it can open doors.

The opportunity gap

Economic exclusion remains a daily reality for billions worldwide. Lack of access to financial tools, decent work, and resilient livelihoods continues to trap communities in cycles of poverty.

• 85% of nonprofits are exploring AI, but only 24% have a clear adoption strategy
• 78% believe AI is critical for their future, yet 73% feel unprepared for its challenges

Through AI for Changemakers, this cohort will gain the skills, strategies, and partnerships needed to turn proven interventions into scalable, AI-powered engines of opportunity.

The changemaker journey

Starting September 2025, the cohort will embark on a program designed to transform their capabilities:

• 7-week AI Bootcamp with experts from IDEO , DAIN Studios , and others
• Tailored AI strategy development for each nonprofit’s challenge
• Matching Day with tech companies ready to co-build solutions
• AI Sandbox Experience for rapid prototyping
• Global community of mentors, peers, and impact-driven technologists

This cohort is made possible by Google.org, the main sponsor of AI for Changemakers Program, whose leadership in responsible AI is enabling nonprofits to bridge the readiness gap and bring proven social solutions to scale.

Meet the economic opportunity changemakers

• ACT Grupa – strengthens social enterprises and impact businesses in Croatia; with AI they plan to improve resource management and decision-making to scale social impact.
• Aflatoun International – ensures access to social and financial education for vulnerable children and youth; with AI they plan to support governments and partners in scaling curricula and teacher training.
• Agora Partnerships – accelerates purpose-driven entrepreneurs across Latin America; with AI they plan to scale their Sustenta platform, boosting user retention and measuring eco-innovation impact.
• Kantaya – promotes education and empowerment for children in poor Peruvian communities; with AI they plan to enhance their chatbot to support students and graduates in learning and job placement.
• Bridging Gaps – pioneers a pay-it-forward microloan model linking donors and entrepreneurs; with AI they plan to automate lending operations, predict success rates, and improve transparency.
• Bridges to Prosperity – connects isolated communities with trail bridges to unlock access to markets and services; with AI they plan to use remote sensing to identify needs and measure impact at scale.
• Center for Social Innovations BLINK 42-21 – drives social innovation at the intersection of tech, education, and civic engagement; with AI they plan to build platforms for youth-driven projects and personalized education.
• Cosecha – builds resilient farming communities through regenerative agriculture; with AI they plan to transform their mobile app into a multilingual Agtech Assistant for smallholder farmers worldwide.
• Emkubar – empowers entrepreneurs and vulnerable groups with tools and mentorship; with AI they plan to deliver personalized diagnostics, adaptive training, and automated consulting.
• Estonian Refugee Council – supports refugees and crisis-affected people across Europe and the Middle East; with AI they plan to improve cash assistance systems, fraud detection, and beneficiary feedback analysis.
• FATE Alumni Success Stories – Fosters wealth creation by promoting entrepreneurship in Nigeria; with AI they plan to address gaps in personalized and practical support for MSMEs.
• Fundación FESCO – Advances human development, territorial sustainability, and peacebuilding in Colombia; with AI they plan to strengthen the digital leadership of rural and Indigenous women through training.
• Fundación Paraguaya – Develops innovative solutions to eliminate multidimensional poverty; with AI they plan to enhance their Poverty Stoplight program with stronger data analysis.
• Geek Girls LatAm - International – Inspires and empowers girls and women in Latin America to lead in tech and science; with AI they plan to improve impact measurement and data storytelling.
• HackYourFuture – Trains people from refugee backgrounds in coding and software development; with AI they plan to integrate AI into their technical program to match market needs.
• Ignite Hubs – Provides learning opportunities to hundreds of children weekly in libraries; with AI they plan to connect learning to real-world applications and career paths.
• Junior Achievement Africa – Inspires and prepares young Africans to succeed in the global economy; with AI they plan to launch a gamified mobile app to help youth turn ideas into businesses.
• Jacob's Ladder Africa (JLA) – Seeks to activate 30 million green jobs in Africa by 2033; with AI they plan to build a platform for green credit scoring and investability assessment.
• Na'amal Foundation – Envisions a world where refugees access sustainable remote work; with AI they plan to develop tools to optimize websites for search and opportunity matching.
• Operation HOPE – Advances economic opportunity by equipping people with tools to reach financial goals; with AI they plan to create an AI-powered financial coach to scale support.
• Save the Children in Vietnam – Promotes rights-based approaches for ethnic minorities, migrants, and children with disabilities; with AI they plan to explore tools to support these groups more effectively.
• Social Hackers Academy – Supports vulnerable groups with skills training; with AI they plan to build a coding platform with an AI tutor and mentorship model.
• SOLS Foundation – Serves and empowers low-income communities in Malaysia with free education and workforce support; with AI they plan to develop tools to scale their community center and microfinance model.
• Startup Refugees – Accelerates inclusion of refugees and migrants through jobs and entrepreneurship; with AI they plan to experiment with tools to scale their services.

The roadmap ahead

Each organization will move through clear phases:

• Exploration – Identifying the most urgent economic barriers AI can address
• Design – Building AI strategies with expert guidance
• Build – Partnering with tech companies to develop solutions
• Impact – Deploying and scaling AI tools to reach more communities

Join the movement

When proven solutions meet AI, entire economies can shift.

We invite tech companies to join this journey: apply your expertise where it matters most and help build technology that expands opportunity for millions.