Ralf Toenjes

Ralf Toenjes is an internationally recognized social entrepreneur dedicated to revolutionizing eye care accessibility. Named by Forbes as one of Brazil’s most promising young leaders on the Under 30 list and awarded Social Entrepreneur of the Year (Under 35), he has also been recognized as a Global Influential Leader by AACSB and elected to the National Youth Council (Conjuve) as the Health Chair. Most notably, Ralf was selected as one of the 17 United Nations Young Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—a prestigious recognition awarded to only 17 changemakers worldwide, chosen from over 7,000 candidates across 172 countries. He was also named one of the 100 CEOs for 2020 on the Meaningful Business list. 3 times TedX Speaker (São Paulo, UFTM, Petrópolis). Ralf holds three bachelor’s degrees: Business Administration and Economics from Insper, and Law from the University of São Paulo (USP). As the Co-founder and President of Renovatio, he leads one of Brazil’s most impactful social organizations, dedicated to eliminating barriers to eye care and eyeglasses access. Over the past decade, Ralf has pioneered innovative mobile eye clinics—transforming trucks and buses into fully equipped ophthalmological units—reaching over 500,000 people and distributing hundreds of thousands of eyeglasses across Mozambique, Haiti, India, Guine-Bissau, and 25 Brazilian states. With a vision to transform Brazil’s eye care system, Ralf co-founded the Juntos Pela Visão (United for Vision) alliance, initially uniting three leading organizations (Renovatio, Instituto Suel Abujamra and Instituto Verter) to tackle the country’s severe ophthalmic care gaps. Under his leadership, the initiative has continued to grow, recently welcoming two additional organizations, further strengthening its mission to make quality eye care accessible to all. Beyond his social impact work, Ralf is also an Executive Education Professor in the ESG Management Course at Insper. He has been invited to speak at global forums, including the World Economic Forum, Junior Enterprise World Conference, Enactus National Conference. Ralf is a scholarship recipient of Fundação Estudar, a prestigious foundation founded by Jorge Paulo Lemann to support high-potential young leaders. His influence has also extended to high-profile networks, including a personal invitation to lunch with Warren Buffett in Omaha, NE—a rare opportunity reserved for some of the world’s most promising changemakers.

performing for 1 million people as Paul McCartney double in a Carnival parade in Rio!