Maryam’s Story – Igniting the Mindset

In a world grappling with environmental challenges, poverty, and energy crises, Maryam Saleem used her entrepreneurial mindset to find a solution for her home country of Pakistan. Battling her own environmental allergies and disheartened by the high poverty and unemployment rates around her, Maryam was deeply worried about the impacts of climate change and the energy crisis on her community.

As a teenager, Maryam founded GoClean, a groundbreaking initiative that turns organic waste into renewable energy, while simultaneously building sustainable communities through a circular economy. Her vision was simple yet profound: to empower communities, especially those living below the poverty line, by providing them with the tools and knowledge to convert their kitchen waste into biogas, a clean and renewable energy source.

In 2023, Maryam’s ingenuity and dedication were recognized on a global stage when she won the Citi Foundation’s Skills for Success Challenge in the NFTE World Series of Innovation. With the prize money, she expanded GoClean’s scale and impact, focusing on building a community team and providing free high-tech biodigesters to those in need.

GoClean’s innovative model is centered on fostering sustainable communities through a circular economy. It empowers community leadership among the very people who benefit from its services. In Pakistan, where a vast portion of organic waste is found in households living below the poverty line—often in unplanned settlements—there is an urgent need for clean, affordable energy. With 55% of the population lacking access to such energy and 44.7% being unskilled, GoClean addresses these pressing issues by offering highly efficient, insulated, portable domestic biodigesters to these households at no cost.

These biodigesters not only provide a renewable energy source but also save money and time for families, who no longer need to gather firewood for cooking—a task that exposes them, particularly girls, to dangers such as harassment and wild animals, and contributes to deforestation. Instead, these girls now have more time for education and personal development, breaking free from traditional roles and contributing to a brighter future.

Currently operating successfully at nine sites, GoClean’s installation sites serve as classrooms where community members receive hands-on training in biogas production. The program has developed numerous Biogas Community Leaders, who are now instrumental in spreading this knowledge and driving the mission forward. These leaders, equipped with skills to install and monitor biogas units, are not just beneficiaries but active contributors to the movement for sustainable communities.

Maryam was also invited to attend the 2024 Japan International Youth Innovation Summit where she was appointed Asia Youth Innovation Ambassador in recognition of her outstanding dedication, commitment, and contributions toward global leadership, innovation, & peace value. She was also named the first place winner of the Peace Innovation Speak Up competition.