- How did the idea for the Academy come about?
The idea for the Academy was inspired by our Founders’ personal experiences growing up all over
Africa and realizing that the key bottleneck to peace and prosperity in Africa was the lack of
effective leadership on the continent.
- How does the Academy define a leader?
A leader is an agent of positive change. A leader uses his or her networks, skills, and talents
to improve the status quo for the broader community. Leaders exist in all professions and catalyze
sweeping, positive change.
- What is the legal structure of the Academy?
African Leadership Academy is a nonprofit Section 21 public benefit organization (PBO) in South
Africa. All contributions made to the Academy by individuals or corporations in South Africa are
exempt from donations tax and estate tax.
African Leadership Academy has an affiliated 501(c)3 nonprofit organization,
the African Leadership
Foundation , located in the United States. African Leadership Foundation was established to
support the development of African Leadership Academy and the next generation of African leaders.
All gifts made to African Leadership Foundation by individuals and donors located in the United
States may be tax-deductible.
- Why is the Academy located in South Africa? Why is it located in Gauteng Province?
South Africa is an ideal location for the Academy because of its economic and political
stability, world-class infrastructure, and ease of transport to and from the other nations in
Africa and around the world. Gauteng province, home to Johannesburg and Pretoria, is the
cosmopolitan hub of South Africa. It is fast becoming a “gathering place” for well-educated
Africans from all over the continent. This makes Gauteng an ideal location for finding mentors and
guest speakers for our students. Gauteng is also the commercial hub of South Africa, offering close
proximity to many South African corporations and individuals interested in funding the Academy.
- What makes the Academy unique?
African Leadership Academy is the only school in Africa that will actively recruit students from
all nations on the continent. It is also the only school in Africa with such an explicit emphasis
on developing leaders and entrepreneurs. The Academy offers unsurpassed expertise in university and
career placement, and it will uniquely admit highly talented students without regard to their
economic status.
- Who will be the Academy faculty?
The African Leadership Academy faculty will include outstanding teachers from around the world.
Approximately 80% of the teaching staff will come from across Africa, reflecting the pan-African
composition of the student body. The remainder of the faculty will come from other continents, some
of whom will be teaching on exchange from the other leading secondary schools. ALA has already
established strong links with some of the most prestigious schools in the USA and England.
- Is African Leadership Academy simply another opportunity for Africa’s elite?
No. African Leadership Academy aspires to educate talented students from all walks of life. A
diverse student body will be admitted to the Academy without regard to the students’ race, gender,
citizenship, religious affiliation, or family wealth. The Academy seeks in particular those
talented students who might not otherwise have access to an outstanding education, and we
anticipate that at least 50% of our students will require financial assistance. With all students,
we seek to reinforce the notion that they have been endowed with skills, networks, and talents not
just for themselves but for the benefit of society as a whole. And African Leadership Academy’s
outreach efforts, including teacher training and the sharing of our curriculum across the
continent, will enable ALA to impact thousands of students beyond our campus.
- At which universities does the Academy intend to place its students?
African Leadership Academy seeks to place each student at a world-class university that strongly
matches his or her interests and goals. These universities may be in Africa or outside the
continent, but they must provide our graduates with resources – faculty, libraries, laboratories,
and technology offerings – that will prepare them to lead in an increasingly competitive global
arena. We expect some students to attend universities outside Africa, and we will embrace these
decisions. Global exposure and cross-cultural awareness is fundamental to leadership in the
twenty-first century.
- How will you find your students?
African Leadership Academy will find its students through a combination of direct outreach and
partnership efforts. Our Admissions team will visit countries across the continent to meet leading
students and build partnerships with NGOs, ministries of education, feeder schools, and other
organizations that work with youth across the continent.
- How will you select your students?
We will be looking for outstanding students from across the continent with demonstrated
leadership potential, entrepreneurial spirit, passion for Africa, passion for public service, and a
strong academic record.
The candidate selection process will include recommendations from communities/teachers, essays,
interviews, entrance exams, and an evaluation of academic performance to date.
- When was this project launched?
In June 2003.
- Who are your main funders?
African Leadership Academy is supported by individuals, corporations, and foundations across the
world. Our supporters include Echoing Green, a foundation in New York that supports innovative
social sector organizations; the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa; and a diverse
group of individuals including leading businesspeople from across the continent. For information on
our supporters is available on the
Support Us section of this site and in our
downloadable publications.
- Why will African Leadership Academy use the “Northern Hemisphere” academic calendar (September – June)?
Approximately half of African Leadership Academy’s students will come from regions near or above
the Equator, including West and North Africa. These regions already have an academic calendar that
begins in September. Many of our sister schools around the world have a September – June academic
calendar, and many of the world’s leading universities also use such a calendar.
- What is the curriculum at the Academy?
Our academic core is an internationally recognized A-level academic curriculum. Around this is
built our unique curriculum in Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and African Studies. For more
information, please visit the
curriculum section of this
website.
- How is your curriculum being developed?
We have a full-time curriculum team that is identifying experts in Leadership, Entrepreneurship,
and African Studies and surveying best practices to incorporate into our curriculum.
- Where will ALA students come from?
Approximatively 80% of our student body will come from within Africa and 20% from outside of
Africa. Within Africa, ALA aims for regional balance (with students from West, East, North and
Southern Africa), gender balance, religious diversity, and language diversity (Francophone,
Anglophone, Lusophone). Students from abroad will include children from the African diaspora and
exchange students from sister schools around the world.
- Why does African Leadership Academy seek students from outside of Africa?
African Leadership Academy is a global institution with an African focus. On our campus, future
leaders from across Africa and around the world will interact. Young African leaders will recognize
that Africa cannot develop in a vacuum but is instead part of an increasingly interconnected world.
They will benefit from deep linkages and friendships with full-time and exchange students from
other regions. We dream of a future in which a Senator from the United States who has been educated
at ALA is sponsoring a trade bill that affects Africa, or an investment banker in London will rely
on information and networks built at ALA to evaluate a significant investment in the continent.
- Why are you focusing on the 16-19 year age group?
We are focusing on students who are at a very special time in their lives: they are coming out
from under the wings of their parents and starting to form their own views of the world. By working
with young people, we have a powerful opportunity to shape how they think and build a solid
foundation of ethics and values.
- How is the Academy different from other initiatives that aim to develop leaders for Africa?
African Leadership Academy has a focus on the youth across the continent, while most
high-powered leadership initiatives in Africa are working with adults or in a specific country. ALA
is the only institution in Africa taking such a long-term, pan-African approach to developing
leaders. We are bringing best practice in leadership, entrepreneurship, and African studies to our
students and teaching it in a unique manner that will truly prepare students for a lifetime of
leadership on the continent. ALA will assemble a broad network of individuals, including alumni,
mentors, guest speakers, and corporate partners from all over Africa. The ALA network will form the
support structure for our young leaders and thereby enhance their chances of success.
- How will ALA be financially sustainable?
ALA’s operating model allows it to be financially sustainable after the third year of
operations. Financial sustainability is crucial to our goal of building an African educational
institution that lasts for centuries. We achieve sustainability by charging competitive boarding
school fees for those students with financial means and by leading a number of fee-based summer and
holiday programs on our campus.
- How will you ensure your students come back to Africa if they attend university overseas?
While students are at African Leadership Academy, we will instill in them a passion for Africa
(via our African studies curriculum) and an awareness of the amazing opportunities to have impact
on the continent. They will be exposed to inspirational mentors and role models - Africans who have
studied overseas and have come back to lead extremely fulfilling careers - so our students
recognize that they don’t need to leave Africa to have successful careers. Finally, ALA students
will be encouraged to think like entrepreneurs. We believe Africa is an entrepreneur’s paradise.
We will not leave it to overseas institutions to place our graduates in careers, because few
institutions have deep networks across Africa. Instead, we will actively facilitate connections
between our graduates and organizations across the continent through our deep pan-African network.
African Leadership Academy will bring alumni together frequently during college and beyond, keeping
them connected to the mission and values of the Academy.
- How will you deal with language differences at the Academy?
African Leadership Academy’s primary language of instruction is English. Each student is also
required to learn another language that is broadly spoken on the African continent during their
time at the Academy. Those students who are admitted to ALA without language fluency will be given
extra classes prior to and during their time at the Academy.
- How, specifically, will you develop leaders at the Academy?
We will develop leadership skills through study, role modelling, and extensive practice.
Students will study and consider leadership from a variety of perspectives through case studies and
texts on the subject. They will have frequent contact with role models who visit campus regularly
as guest speakers and a personal mentor who is a “leadership coach.” And they will have extensive
practice, most notably with the Culminating Service Project, in which each student must design and
implement a project that has a lasting positive impact on an African community.
- Will students be able to practice their religious beliefs or cultural customs on campus?
Yes. African Leadership Academy values diversity and encourages all students to practice any
religious beliefs or cultural customs that are important to them. Spaces on campus will be made
available for prayer and cultural activities. Students may choose to attend a local church, mosque
or synagogue and will be escorted to services by a member of the ALA staff.
