Ish Aggarwal
"Every child deserves access to knowledge, opportunity, and the tools to build their own future regardless of where they were born, what language they speak, or how much money their family has."
Ish Aggarwal (16), is from the United States. Growing up in Frisco, Texas, Ish saw how a child’s birthplace, language, or family income could unfairly shape their future. Watching immigrant families struggle for economic opportunity and students go without basic educational resources, he decided not to wait for someone else to fix it.
As CEO of the Financial and Investments Organization (FAI), Ish leads financial literacy programming for over 6,000 members across 125+ global chapters, raising a significant amount of money to bring financial education to underserved students who otherwise have none. With co-founders Rayanne Noonari and Nithilan Karthik, he built Project Origin, a free entrepreneurship bootcamp for immigrant and underrepresented students, and helped create Genesis, an AI-powered learning platform extending its reach even further. He also built Textbooks4Tomorrow, a book donation nonprofit powered by over 200 volunteers.
The results speak for themselves: Project Origin reached 113 in-person participants and 2,139 people through Genesis, with participants showing a 52% increase in entrepreneurial knowledge and a 111% jump in entrepreneurial interest. Through financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and access to books, Ish is building the systems he wishes had existed for the families he grew up watching struggle.
Other nominees
Donate monthly
Become a donor and support our work from just €5 a month.
- You make a difference every single month
- Flexible and easy
Make a one-time donation
Support children and young people around the world with a one-time donation.
- Make an immediate impact
- Choose how you want to give
Planned recurring giving
Thanks to tax benefits, your donation can go even further.
- Make a bigger impact with the same donation
- Simple and tax-efficient