Maren Ahlers passionately advocates for active mobility, social inclusion, and climate justice. Based in Addis Ababa, she co-founded Egre Menged Impact (EMi), a community-based organization using bicycles as tools for empowerment, sustainability, and economic opportunity; especially for women, girls, and marginalized communities.
Maren coordinates inclusive training programs and collaborates with universities, grassroots groups, and international networks to redesign urban spaces with care for people and the planet at the center.
With a background in Climate Change and Development (SOAS, University of London) and years of experience working with organizations like GIZ and ILRI, she combines activism, policy engagement, and creative outreach to make streets safer and mobility more just.
Selected publications or texts
- Reasons to be Cheerful July, 2025
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/bicycle-mayors-bike-friendly-cities/ - Women Mobilize Women May, 2025,
https://womenmobilize.org/remarkable-voices-in-transport/ - October 2024,
“Pedaling Towards More Mobility Justice in African Metropolises” in the “Right to The Cycling City” - Moments2Live4 by UNRSF, November 2023
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7136018496630505472/ - “Empowering Ethiopian Women Through Cycling – Transport Situation in Africa’s Second Most Populated Country” in “Women Mobilize Women” December 2023
- European Cyclists Federation & Nordisc June 2023
https://ecf.com/news-and-events/news/ecf-hosts-world-bicycle-day-webinar-launch-new-report-cities-changing-diabetes
Selected speaking engagements
2024: Speaker at the ‘Real-Life Experiment’ promoting Active Mobility in Mekelle, Ethiopia, organized by the Collaboration for Active Mobility in Africa initiative (CAMA).
2024: Speaker at the ‘Building Resilient Infrastructure (BRI) Towards Sustainable Urban Transition’ conference, organized by the EiABC Institute for Architecture, Building Construction and City Development, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the Bauhaus-University Weimar, Germany.
2023: Speaker at the ‘World Bicycle Day’ webinar by the European Cyclists’ Federation and Novo Nordisk collaboration.
Awards and recognitions
- June 2025: Maren Ahlers was awarded as a ‘Remarkable Young Voice in Transportation 2025’ by the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI) and the Women Mobilize Women Initiative.
- November 2024: The Netherlands NGO BYCS awarded Maren Ahlers the title of ‘Bicycle Mayor of Addis Ababa’.
- 2024: One Young World Academy Official Development Assistance Course participant