Enabling High-Potential African Youth

Our Africa Careers Network team comprises managers from all over the African continent who specialise in building relationships with, and advising, various users. They also manage relationships with our partner companies and organisations. Meet our Team tofind out more about our relationship managers. If you are interested in partnering with ACN, please email us at acnsupport@africanleadershipacademy.org

Yes, several of our young leaders who intern in their final year of university receive return offers from the organisations that hosted them for internships. There are a number of ACN young leaders who are currently looking for full-time employment. If you have a full-time employment recruitment need, please Meet Our Team to find out more about our relationship managers by emailing us at acnsupport@africanleadershipacademy.org

We have just over 3,000 young leaders in our network, a combination of ALA Alumni and Mastercard Foundation Scholars. While we do have some students who have graduated from university, most of them are between seventeen and twenty-three years old. This by no means precludes them from the type of professionalism and delivery expected in any professional work setting. Many of our users have started and run successful entrepreneurial ventures on the continent, and exhibit maturity and professionalism.

Majority of the ACN population are in University and have just graduated from University. However, we have a growing number of talent who have 5+ years of work experience with graduate school/ PhD qualifications. Overall, ACN’s university graduates are often recruited by top organisations across the African continent, including Allan Gray, Amnesty International, Coca-Cola, Dalberg Global Development Advisors, IBM, and McKinsey & Company. With up to three years of internship experience and an academic background in some of the best universities across the world, these young leaders are highly sought after, and represent a rich pipeline of entrepreneurial, pan-African talent for the continent. Mid-Senior Level: Graduate students with MBAs and Masters qualifications with 3+ years of work experience after completing their undergraduate programs. Due to having more extensive experience they have a more developed set of skills and have often identified their desired area of specialisation.

Young leaders in the ACN come from over 40 African countries, and have wide-ranging interests. We therefore aim to provide opportunities in as many countries and sectors as possible. ACN seeks internship opportunities across the whole of Africa in all sectors including Infrastructure (Engineering & Architecture), Healthcare, Agribusiness, Governance (Law, Policy making, humanitarian affairs), Education and The Arts. We also aim to provide opportunities in non-sector specific functions including Finance, Consulting, Technology and Shared Business Services like Marketing etc.

Most organisations provide a stipend to cover the living costs associated with the internship. Stipends range widely across countries and sectors, but generally fall within a range of US$100 to US$500 per month. Depending on the home/university location of the intern, transportation (flight or ground) to the internship country may need to be provided by the organisation. These costs are of course negotiable, and depend on the financial capabilities of the partner organisation. Our policy as a team invested in developing the next generation of African leaders is to do our best to ensure that finances are no object to a good internship fit.

ACN internship co-ordinators on campus work with host organisations to gather information about the internship opportunities, which are then communicated to you based on your interests via an internship advert posted on the ACN web portal. Interested young leaders need to apply for the internships by writing a CV and covering letter. In most cases, these are submitted to the ACN internship co-ordinators for review and shortlisting, which allows the ACN team to work with the host organisation in selecting the best candidate(s). Some organisations choose to interview a selection of candidates by phone, Skype or in person before making the final selection.

As most young leaders intern in their home country, in their region (e.g. ECOWAS), or in their country of study, there are often no visa issues. In the event that the internship is located in another country, we will work collaboratively with the host organisation to develop a plan to obtain the necessary visas. In most cases, young leaders are able to obtain the required documents. However, unforeseen changes in visa legislation may negatively affect this.