Chris Ategeka: From A Homeless Orphan To An Award Winning Social Entrepreneur

Christopher Ategeka (born July 10, 1984) is founder and CEO of Rides for Lives (formerly CA Bikes) and co-founder of Privail.

A native of Fort Portal Uganda, Christopher graduated from Kitante Hill School located in the country's capital Kampala. Motivated by his experiences growing up in rural northwestern part of Uganda, Ategeka is the Founder of Rides for Lives a company built to bring about health equity to the 400 million people worldwide that lack access to essential health services according to a report released by the World Health Organization and World Bank. Rides for Lives services empower people to access health services in developing Countries. His work has been profiled in the YAHOO, San Francisco Chronicle, Fast Company, TED, NPR, Forbes, BBC, and the United Nations. Ategeka has received many honors and awards for his work, most recently was named a 2016 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum as well as 2014 Forbes 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneurs who are changing the world. He is an active proponent for STEM education, Entrepreneurship and innovation.

Ategeka, the eldest of five siblings, was orphaned after losing both parents to HIV/AIDS. He became the head of the household and caretaker to his brothers and sisters at an early age. In order to feed his family, Ategeka started his first business by collecting garbage in exchange for food. His siblings were eventually disbursed to live with different relatives. Chris went to live with his uncle, whom he helped by acting as a human scarecrow to chase monkeys away from his uncle's crops.

In his teens, Ategeka escaped to a non-profit orphanage, YES Uganda, and was able to go to primary school. While he was there, Chris was sponsored by an American family who were able to get him into a private high school in Fort Portal, Uganda. Upon graduation, Chris moved to the United States to live with them and attend community college before receiving a scholarship to University of California, Berkeley where he received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

Ategeka currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.

He has won several awards, which includes:

2016:	World Economic Forum Young Global Leader (Class of 2016).
2015:	Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award.
2015:	Ashoka Fellow.
2015:	Cordes Fellow.
2014:	Forbes Magazine 30under30 Social Entrepreneurs in the World.
2014:	SET Africa Award (Social Entrepreneurs transforming Africa; USAID, MasterCard Foundation).
2014:	United Nations Global Accelerator.
2014:	Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance fellow.
2013:	Echoing Green Fellow.
2013:	African Forum - 100 Innovations for Sustainable Development.
2012:	USAID PEPFAR Award.
2011:	Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize, UC Berkeley.

 He has also been a key speaker in several events and they include:

2015: Social Entrepreneurship Haas School of Business , University of California, Berkeley.

2015: YPO , San Francisco, California.

2015: Social Impact Conference, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

2015: Beyond Academia: University of California, Berkeley.

2015: The School Fund.

2014: Chicago Ideas Week.

2014: TiECon, Santa Clara Conventional Center.

2014: United Nations Global Accelerator.

2014: TEDx Sacramento.

2013/2014/2015:  Rotary Club (Pacifica, Petaluma, Sebastopal, Millbrae 2013, 2014, San Bruno,   Farfield, Marin Evening).

2013: Boys and Girls Club (East Palo Alto).

2011: Commencement speaker at UC Berkeley