Durukan is the co-founder of Anatolian Grasslands. His main area of work is regenerative agriculture, where he produces the highest nutritious food while going much beyond sustainability and improving the ecosystems. He is bringing a fresh approach to farming and rural life in Turkey by combining regenerative farming with the human capital of youth and farmers and connecting them to innovative market models. The result is a mutually enriching human and nature relationship and sustainable and productive rural agricultural communities. Durukan joined the Ashoka Fellowship in 2017 from Turkey and has recently moved to Sweden to adapt and duplicate his changemaking initiatives. 

Mesut established E-bursum to build a democratization and digitization movement aiming to make student scholarships and loans more transparent, fair and impactful in Turkey. Mesut is turning a dysfunctional financial instrument in education into an empowerment tool and fundamentally changing the ways scholarship givers and recipients interact with one-another.

Mesut’s future plans for E-Bursum are far-reaching, including the activation of a smart network of donors, mentors, and trainers to improve the overall prosperity of students. As the platform continues to grow, Mesut also plans to develop a crowd sourcing mechanism for students that will enable individuals to fundraise for their own passions - be it personal development, continuing their education abroad or starting their own start-up.