Unleash The Network
African Leadership Academy
African Leadership Academy (ALA) seeks to transform Africa by identifying, developing and connecting a new generation of young leaders who will lead the continent towards lasting peace and shared prosperity for all. Since our inception in 2008 we have worked to lay the foundations of this audacious mission by identifying and developing a group of exceptional young leaders who will work together to shape Africa’s future.
Along the way, we have partnered with like-minded organisations and foundations and we have expanded our network of young leaders to include ALA Alumni, Mastercard Foundation Scholars, Anzisha Prize fellows and graduates from African Leadership University. ALA is now over ten years into its mission and the time has come to Unleash the Network: to create the support structures that will catalyse this network of young leaders who will take ownership of their shared-mission and collaborate with each other, program partners and friends of ALA to catalyse transformational change on the continent.
The Networks team at African Leadership Academy drives this work through 3 main offerings: University Support, Early Career Success and Sector Communities
Networks in Numbers
The Networks Program aims to unleash the potential of a 3200-strong community of Africa’s most extraordinary young leaders to maximize their collective impact on the continent.
young leaders in the Network, from 57 countries
young leaders placed in jobs and internships
ventures founded by ALA Alumni
of ALA’s first 6 cohorts are engaged in work or projects in Africa
We will Unleash the Network by accelerating diverse pathways to impact, developing sector communities and catalysing connections between our young leaders and key stakeholders.
Our Theory of Change
Our partners
The Mastercard Foundation seeks a world where everyone has the opportunity to learn and prosper. The Foundation’s work is guided by its mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion for people living in poverty. One of the largest foundations in the world, it works almost exclusively in Africa. It was created in 2006 by Mastercard International and operates independently under the governance of its own Board of Directors. The Foundation is based in Toronto, Canada.
Founded by Julian H. Robertson, the Robertson Foundation seeks to make investments for the benefit of humanity, in the areas of medical sciences, the environment, education and other areas the Board may wish to evaluate or pursue, in pursuit of maximum impact.
We succeed when the organizations we fund are growing towards sustainable impact at scale. Our Investments in this Focus Area are spread throughout Africa.
Small Foundation are working to end extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030, by catalysing income-generating opportunities for extremely poor people in rural sub‑Saharan Africa. We aim to support initiatives that improve the business ecosystems that proliferate income opportunities for those in extreme poverty.