Emeka Okonkwo had no office, no investors, and no formal banking experience. What he had was a phone, a folding table, and a stubborn belief that Lagos had room for one more fintech story.

After six years as a product manager at two unicorns, Valentina Rios walked away from her San Francisco life and went back to her grandmother's coffee farm in Huila. What she built there surprised everyone, including herself.

Carlo Mendoza started his animation studio in a 28-square-metre apartment in Tondo with one laptop and a secondhand drawing tablet. Three years later, his team of nine has produced work for clients on four continents.

Meera Nair spent 34 years teaching secondary school English in Dadar. At 64, she retired and started a food blog because she was bored. She now has 890,000 followers and has turned down.

When his neighbourhood in Detroit's east side was written off by every developer and city planner, Marcus Webb opened a woodworking workshop in a building he bought for $800. He has since trained 340 people and turned down an offer to franchise.