News
The latest news from the African Leadership Institute and its Fellows. AFLI Fellows are leaders and change-makers, so this section has a lot of news. All text in all of the posts is fully searchable.
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The African Leadership Institute is delighted to announce the Associates who have been selected for the 2024 Class of the Tutu Fellowship programme. It is a privilege to be welcoming this group of exceptional African leaders, who emerged from the more than 400 nominations received.
This year’s cohort includes associates from Algeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Their current endeavours span the domains of private business, public governance and civil society, and their areas of influence range from finance and technology to human rights and the arts.
This rich diversity of nationalities, professions and perspectives is a defining feature of the programme’s learning experience. These associates demonstrate the incredible wealth and breadth of Africa’s leadership talent and the programme is committed to strengthening their capacity as catalysts for positive, transformative impact across the continent.
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2019 Tutu Fellow Uzoma Nwagba has been appointed by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu as the CEO of Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CreditCorp). A statement issued by the President's office said that Uzoma's appointment was in keeping with the president's goal to ensure financial inclusion and economic prosperity for the majority of Nigerians.
Prior to this appointment, Uzoma had served as COO of the Nigerian Government's Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), in charge of driving micro-credit and other financial interventions at the institution.
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2014 Tutu Fellow Ladé Araba is joining African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP) as Vice President Financial Services. AFAP is a non-profit social enterprise that collaborates with public and private sector partners to develop and strengthen inputs value-chains, and to deepen and broaden fertilizer markets across Africa. AFAP designs and executes sustainable development projects that support policy and regulatory reforms, capacity building, financial credit provision, and data collection and market intelligence dissemination. By providing innovative and market-oriented business solutions, AFAP promotes the growth of the agricultural inputs and agribusiness value chain sectors.
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2022 Tutu Fellow Tarek Mouganie PhD has been selected as a member of the Yale World Fellows. Tarek is a Ghanaian entrepreneur and Founder and Group CEO of Affinity Africa, a digital bank that provides affordable and accessible services to micro and small and medium sized businesses. Since inception, Affinity's contribution has been profound, with nearly 90% of their customers previously unbanked, over 60% of whom are women operating in the informal sector.
The sixteen 2024 Yale World Fellows comprise global leaders working in environment, technology, politics, social cohesion, media, human rights, international development, and public health sectors, around the world. They include an Indian human rights lawyer, a Chinese AI expert, and Tarek, among them.
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2010 Tutu Fellow Bright Simons has been selected for a month-long residency by the Rockefeller Foundation at the Bellagio Center in Italy. The first group of 2024 residents selected was announced in March.
Since launching in 1959, the Bellagio residency program has welcomed more than 4,000 artists, policymakers, scholars, authors, practitioners, and scientists from 130 countries, including 100 recognized as Nobel Laureates. Each year, the Bellagio Center residency program offers around 100 individuals the opportunity to develop the ideas, art, policies, and breakthroughs that will help to promote the well-being of humanity by making opportunity universal and sustainable.
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Several Tutu Fellows have been selected for the 2024 cohort of the African Climate Ambassadors Programme. The Africa Climate Ambassador's Programme is a joint initiative of Jacobs Ladder Africa (JLA), the African Leadership Institute, the Climate Action Platform for Africa (CAP-A) and the Africa Centre. The organisations comprise the Africa Climate Action Advocacy Initiative, or ACAAI.
The Africa Climate Ambassador's Programme is a year-long programme and brings together 18 African expert leaders from a wide range of sectors to integrate insights on climate action and affect discourse on the subject in their areas of influence.
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2006 Tutu Associate Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli has been appointed the new CEO of The One Campaign. In an announcement on their website in February 2024, ONE said that after an extensive search, the Board had selected Ndidi as President and CEO.
Ndidi has more than two decades years of international development experience, including deep expertise in agriculture and nutrition, social innovation, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and youth development in Africa.
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2014 Tutu Fellow Ada Osakwe has been appointed to the board of AECF - the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund. AECF is a non-profit development organization that supports innovative enterprises in the agribusiness and renewable energy sectors to reduce rural poverty, promote resilient communities, and create jobs.
The role is a good fit for Ada, who is the Founder and Chief Executive of Agrolay Ventures, which supports early-stage companies in Africa in the food and technology sectors.
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The online news publication Rest Of World has done a lengthy feature on 2017 Tutu Fellow Bosun Tijani PhD, titled He was a tech rebel. Then he joined the government. Calling him a celebrity in Nigeria's tech space, it outlined how his transition from the private sector to government began bumpily when lawmakers were less interested in his professional accomplishments than his twitter account at his hearing. His apologies over critical tweets were accepted and he became the new Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy. Coming directly from the tech sector, the piece describes his appointment as a positive change from career politicians.
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The baton has been passed at The Initiative for Equal Rights from one Tutu Fellow to another. Retiring board chair Bibi Bakare-Yusuf - who chaired the organisation for ten years - was replaced by Chude Jideonwo, who was appointed in November 2023.
Bibi is the founder of publisher Cassava Press, and a 2008 Tutu Fellow. Chude is the Founder of Joy, Inc., and a Nigerian TV host, film maker and entrepreneur and a 2018 Tutu Fellow. TIERs is a courageous voice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Nigeria, who face severe challenges not experienced by normies. LGBT rights are frequently infringed upon and homosexual activity is illegal in Nigeria and punishable by up to 16 years of prison in the conventional court system.
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2016 Tutu Fellow Succès Masra PhD has been appointed transitional Prime Minister of Chad by transitional President General Mahamat Idriss Deby. The appointment was made on 1 January 2024.
Succès is the president of The Transformers party and has been a long-time opponent of the Deby dynasty. He returned to Chad in November after reaching an agreement with its military leaders. He went into exile after the October 2022 protests that broke out when the military regime extended by two years an already 18-month transition that was supposed to culminate in elections and the return to power of a civilian government.
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Netflix has appointed 2016 Tutu Fellow Dorothy Ghettuba as Director, Content (Series & Film) Africa. The change in title adds additional responsibility and scope to her role at the streaming giant, where she has been working since 2019. She was appointed to the position in January 2024.
Previously, she was the Director, Africa Original Series at Netflix, which she started in March 2022. Prior to that she was Manager, Africa Originals Series, a new position that she started in June 2019.
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2023 Tutu Fellow Marie-Alix de Putter has shared her experience of the 2023 Fellowship programme in a moving account on LinkedIn. She recounts her journey and her classmates from the first Workshop at Mont Fleur through to after graduation in September, and her account includes the impact of the conversations on her.
The strength of the Tutu Fellowship comprises the strong ties built between Fellows as they grow during the conversations and introspection that programme facilitators enable.
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2013 Fellow Ifeoma Malo has won the Energy Entrepreneur Award at the 2023 Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF). She was the winner in one of AWIEF's eight categories at the awards ceremony, which took place in Kigali, Rwanda in November 2023. Each year the AWIEF Awards recognises and celebrates outstanding women entrepreneurs and business owners in Africa for their contribution to Africa’s growth and social development.
Ify was awarded her work in clean tech and climate-friendly solutions.
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The New York Times is reporting about an organization founded by 2023 Tutu Fellow Marie-Alix de Putter. Her Bluemind Foundation is providing training to hairdressers to be mental health ambassadors, to make an impact on the limited mental healthcare available in Africa.
The NYT article begins with the account of a woman in Togo, who had lost her brother and was having a hard time dealing with her grief. She knew she needed help, but couldn't afford therapy. Instead, she found help from an unexpected counsellor - her hairdresser. Her hairdresser had noticed the changes and created a safe space to share her struggles.
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- Africa's journeys of independence remind us that information remains potent
- The Calestous Juma Science Fellows convene for second workshop in Nairobi
- Dr Abdu Mukhtar appointed to revitalise Nigeria's healthcare sector
- Rose Funja appointed to EASTECO Governing Board
- Nozipho Tshabalala moderates the 13th Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture
- Tony Edeh announces major grant to support entrepreneurship in Nigeria
- James Mworia wins Nature's Advocate Award from The Nature Conservancy
- Nigerian President appoints Dr Kelechi Ohiri as DG of the National Health Insurance Agency
- Nigerian Exchange appoints Ahonsi Unuigbe as its new Board Chairman
- Fellow launches a new fellowship for Black women in executive leadership