About me
Ken Banks is the Founder of kiwanja.net and creator of FrontlineSMS, a text messaging platform helping drive social change projects in 170 countries around the world. Ken holds a BA (Hons) in Social Anthropology with Development Studies, was awarded a Stanford University Fellowship in 2006, and named a Pop!Tech Fellow in 2008. In 2009 he was named a Laureate of the Tech Awards, an international awards program which honours innovators from around the world applying technology to benefit humanity.
He was named a National Geographic Explorer in May 2010 and an Ashoka Fellow in 2011, was the recipient of the 2011 Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest, and was selected as a member of the UK Prime Minister's delegation to Africa in July 2011. In 2012 the Cambridge business community presented Ken with a "Special Achievement Award" for his work as a social innovator. He is also a published author.
In 2012 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
When he's not working, Ken spends much of his time being bossed around by his young son, Henry, and twins Madeleine and Oliver.