Pelkins is a scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of CassVita – a social enterprise that leverages technology to eradicate food insecurity and create prosperity for smallholder farmers in Africa. CassVita has invented a novel biotechnology for increasing the shelf-life of cassava from 3 days to 18 months, enabling cassava farmers to get real value for their crops. CassVita partners with thousands of farmers in West Africa and has been able to increase their earnings by as much as 400%. Pelkins' work has been recognized by the World Food Programme, the African Development Bank, and President Biden. He is fluent in English and French, holds three patents, and was recently named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. 

After graduating as the best student in the country in the Advanced Level exam, Cameroon’s high school leaving exam, Pelkins obtained his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Looking to hone his scientific skills and to gain the business acumen necessary to build CassVita, he continued to obtain an MS/MBA from Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Harvard Business School, where he graduated with honors and was supported by the Soros Fellowship.