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Dr Navjot Sawhney is the Founder and CEO of an award-winning social enterprise tackling the global challenge of handwashing clothes. Inspired by a neighbour he met while volunteering in India, Nav founded the organisation in 2019 with a simple mission: to reduce the burden of laundry for people living in low-income and displaced communities.
thewashingmachineproject.org

An aerospace engineer by background, Nav has led the development of the Divya manual washing machine, a patented, flat-packable innovation that saves users significant time, physical effort and water compared to handwashing. Today, The Washing Machine Project operates across 15 countries, working with partners including UN agencies, NGOs, governments and corporations to improve health, dignity and livelihoods.

Nav has been recognised with an Honorary Doctor of Science from Queen Mary University of London, an Honorary Doctor of Engineering from the University of Bath and was named in TIME's Best Inventions for the Divya manual washing machine. Through his work, he has helped raise awareness of a challenge affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide and is leading a movement to improve quality of life through practical, human-centred innovation.