Ashifi Gogo

Born and raised in Ghana, Gogo – a Dartmouth engineering PhD – co-founded Sproxil in 2009 to fight the scourge of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in Africa. His authentication technology – which relies on basic mobile phones and text messaging – has since been used to verify the source of more than 19 million products. And it’s now being deployed by a number of big brands (think Novartis and Cipla) in six countries – from Nigeria to Pakistan – to find fakes of all kinds: drugs, but also auto parts, underwear and health and beauty products. America’s highest office holders are among Gogo’s fans: Bill Clinton called his company “a remarkable achievement”; in 2013, the Obama administration recognized him as an “Immigrant Innovator” and a “Champion of Change”.