African Leadership Network

Encouraging pan-African collaboration towards 3 million ethical leaders in Africa by 2060

ABOUT US

ALN is a network for people who are passionate about developing 3 million leaders for Africa by 2060. Our mission is to create a convening place for all those who believe in this vision to transform Africa.

WHAT MAKES THE ANNUAL GATHERING DIFFERENT?

SHARED PURPOSE

Join others who believe that developing strong leadership is the most powerful lever for transforming Africa.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Learn of exciting updates and share ideas with agents of change and thought leaders in a variety of sectors & industries.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Take a step back to reflect on your own role in Africa’s future, and enhance your skills as a transformational leader, benefiting from ALN’s unique approach to learning & facilitation.

INSPIRATION

Experience the continent’s rich cultural heritage of music, dance, poetry, and art. while celebrating Africa’s leading enterprises at the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship gala dinner.

PAST ATTENDEES INCLUDE

CHIMAMANDA ADICHIE
Author
HANNA TETTEH
Minister of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration, Ghana
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
Actor
H. E. PAUL KAGAME
President of Rwanda
MANU CHANDARIA
Chairman & CEO, Comcraft
XAVIER LUC-DUVAL
Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius
GERVAIS DJONDO
Co-Founder, Ecobank
HAILEMARIAM DESALEGN
Prime Minister of Ethiopia

WHAT MAKES THE WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

PLAY A MEANINGFUL ROLE

Learn about how you can engage, support or be involved with some of the most exciting developments across Africa.

BENEFIT FROM LEADERSHIP TRAINING

Participate in experiential sessions that develop skills across self-leadership, people management and thought leadership.

BUILD PURPOSE-FILLED RELATIONSHIPSEXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Cultivate genuine relationships with other influential leaders, already partnering with ALN and our affiliated organisations.

WHO ELSE ATTENDS?

400+ people: public sector leaders, top business leaders, as well as celebrities, academics and authors from 40+ countries — 80% in Africa, 20% outside Africa.

FOUNDERS

Fred Swaniker

Co-Founder

Fred is founder of AL Group, a group of organizations developing leadership in Africa. He has been named as a TED Fellow, an Aspen Institute Fellow, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, an Echoing Green Fellow, one of Africa’s top ten young “power men” by Forbes, and one of 115 young leaders selected to meet President Obama at the White House. A former McKinsey & Company consultant, Fred has an MBA from Stanford Business School and a BA from Macalester College. Originally from Ghana, Fred has lived in several African countries.

Acha Leke

Co-Founder

Acha is Senior Partner with McKinsey & Company and Founder of their Lagos office. He has previously worked in McKinsey’s Johannesburg and Atlanta offices. He is also a Co-Founder of the African Leadership Academy. He has been recognized as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and as one of Africa’s top ten young “power men” by Forbes. Acha earned his PhD and MS from Stanford University and BS from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Originally from Cameroon, he splits his time between South Africa and Nigeria.

ALN INITIATIVES

ALN WOMEN

ALN seeks to promote a platform that is inclusive and representative of all its members. In 2017, we celebrated yet another step in this direction, by creating a dedicated forum for the promotion of women in our network.

FOREWORD

Our members are men and women from diverse backgrounds with a shared goal, to utilise their knowledge, network and resources in a collaborative effort to support the advancement of Africa and its people. ALN Women is aligned with this overall objective — to support established leaders whilst growing the next generation of leaders for Africa.

WE HOPE THE NETWORK WILL BE

  • A platform for committed and self-motivated people who support its shared objectives

  • An inclusive network of enthusiastic and committed volunteers

  • Focused on meaningful objectives & results that advance gender inclusive outcomes

  • Collaborative, providing a supportive community for the upliftment of women

WE HOPE THE NETWORK WILL NOT

  • Feel like an imposition on women, nor an obligation for anyone to join

  • Be a forum that is exclusive or exclusionary

  • Attempt to take on too many issues to become inadvertently unfocused

  • Identify problems without attempting to offer tangible solutions or influence change

HOW WE LIVE OUR VALUES

  • We are individually and collectively positively passionate about Africa

  • We contribute in a multitude of ways through our work, community activities or network participation

  • We embrace the diversity in our network and seek to support one another as best we can

  • We share any knowledge, skill, experience or opportunity that may be helpful to another member

  • We celebrate one another’s successes

WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED SO FAR

  • Engagement with ALN Women through surveys, Whatsapp group, emails and conference calls on suggestions and ideas on how the network should evolve

  • Alignment and inclusion of ALN Women sessions within the ALN Gathering’s theme and overall agenda

  • Increased representation of women on panels and dedicated networking sessions at ALN2017

  • A supportive channel of Needs & Leads listings from, and for, ALN Women members

AFRICA BUSINESS FELLOWSHIP

The Africa Business Fellowship is a new initiative matching American professionals with African businesses. An initiative of ALN, Econet, and MLT, the ABF focuses on Africa’s contributions to the global economy and represents a radically different approach to intercultural exchange.

The ABF has been profiled by Harvard Business Review and the Wall Street Journal and has been endorsed by Rwandan President Paul Kagame, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, African Development Bank President Dr. Donald Kaberuka, and many other high-profile African and American leaders.

Placement companies include top African-led companies, including the Dangote Group, Econet, Safaricom, and more.

Watch the official launch of the ABF by Strive Masiwiya of Econet, made at the Milken Institute Global Conference on April 28, 2015:

Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship

ALN has hosted the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship (AAE) since 2012. AAE was established in 2007 by the Legatum Group to recognise business leaders who demonstrate innovation, profitability and business excellence, while serving as role models to inspire Africa’s next generation of entrepreneurs. Over the past decade, AAE has attracted over 7,000 applications and awarded prizes worth over $1.8million to distinguished entrepreneurs in four business categories of Transformational, Mature Business, Growing Business and Social Impact. ALN creates and strengthens relationships between AAE winners and other ALN members, encouraging and supporting intra-African trade, investment and collaboration.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

senior African business leader who has served as an entrepreneurial icon for several decades

Past Winners

Gervais Djondo
Ecobank, Togo
Richard Maponya
Maponya Mall, South Africa

TRANSFORMATIONAL BUSINESS

Businesses with revenues exceeding USD 50 million

Past Winners

OUTSTANDING MATURE BUSINESS

businesses with revenues between USD 5 million and 50 million

Past Winners

OUTSTANDING GROWING BUSINESS

businesses with revenues between USD 500,000 and 5 million

Past Winners

OUTSTANDING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR

an organization with revenues between USD 150,000 and 2.5 million that is addressing a social problem for communities in Africa

Past Winners

ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATIONS

African Leadership University
African Leadership Academy
ALX

PEOPLE

Collectively, our organizations employ around 500 employees; each team diverse in work experience, culture and nationalities.

LOCATIONS

Based in Africa, predominantly operating out of South Africa, Mauritius and Rwanda with team members located across the continent.

CAPITAL

We have raised almost $200m towards the growth of these entities and expect to raise around $1billion over the next 10 years as we scale up.

HIGHER PURPOSE

Although varied in products & initiative, all share a common vision – to develop 3 million leaders for Africa by 2060.

Through this ecosystem of organizations, ALN supports the current and future leaders whom we believe will address Africa’s greatest challenges, and capture its greatest opportunities.

TESTIMONIALS

OUR PARTNERS