Stanford Graduate School of Business alumna Gayatri Datar (MBA ’14), co-founder and CEO of EarthEnable, has been honored with the prestigious President’s Award for Advancement of the Common Good. This award is granted to alumni who use their education and talent to create meaningful, sustainable changes in people’s lives—demonstrating Stanford’s commitment to social responsibility and ethical service.
Datar’s path to making a difference began during a student trip to Rwanda as part of Stanford’s “Design for Extreme Affordability” course at the d.school. While visiting the country, she spoke with a single mother of three living in a home with cracked walls, no windows, and a dirt floor. The mother expressed her desire for a safer environment for her children, a moment that sparked Datar’s vision.
This conversation led to the founding of EarthEnable, a social enterprise aimed at providing healthier and more durable housing to communities in Africa. The company trains local workers to construct earthen floors using natural, locally sourced materials like sand, clay, gravel, and plant fibers. Once sealed with a drying oil, these floors offer a low-cost, environmentally friendly alternative to concrete—while reducing disease, respiratory issues, and the risks posed by poor flooring in extreme climates.
“If you solve housing, you touch health, employment, and climate resilience,” Datar shared. She noted that Africa will need around 400 million new homes in the coming decades—making the work even more critical.
Since its launch in 2014, EarthEnable has reached over 250,000 individuals, created more than 1,000 local jobs, and completed nearly 45,000 housing projects in East Africa.
Datar credits Stanford’s design thinking and hands-on learning approach with shaping her entrepreneurial journey. Her idea for EarthEnable was born in the classroom, and she received the Social Impact Founder Fellowship from Stanford’s Center for Social Innovation to bring it to life.
Today, Datar continues to drive innovation. She co-founded Unlock Impact, co-operates The Creativity Fund Rwanda (which empowers local communities in grant decision-making), and serves on the board of Water Access Rwanda.
“At our core, we’re all here to help each other thrive—through love and service,” Datar said. “That mission can live in business, nonprofits, or the government—it just needs purpose.”
