The next generation of African

Kenesa, who grew up on the outskirts of Sebeta, Ethiopia, noticed the inconvenience of having to travel 6km to the city for essential provisions like medication, food, or school supplies.

To address this issue, Kenesa devised a delivery service for his community using USSD codes. By simply dialing *819# on their mobile phones, residents could have notebooks, medication, food, or any desired items from Sebeta’s top five suppliers delivered to their homes within half an hour. Kenesa processed 93 deliveries in the first month of operation, all accomplished without any expenditure on advertising or marketing.

Laurier is a young entrepreneur and environmentalist. She is the Founder of the Somi Foundation, which aims to provide assistance to children residing in children’s homes, offering essential provisions like food, clothing, sanitary towels, and books. In a commitment to environmental stewardship, the Somi Foundation plants a tree at each children’s home that they visit, symbolizing their dedication to environmental conservation. Laurier’s extraordinary dedication and innovative initiatives earned the Somi Foundation a coveted nomination for the Green Kids Awards in Kenya, an award for youth in Kenya who make a positive impact on the environment.

Mohamed has a deep passion for technology and adept problem-solving skills. Serving as a full-stack web developer, he created a specialized e-learning platform tailored to the rigorous CIE A-level curriculum. This website is designed to consolidate disparate educational resources, offering seamless accessibility to both students and educators. Beyond his web development prowess, Mohamed is also an ethical hacker, a passion he has nurtured over the years. He has undertaken the responsibility of conducting security assessments for Wi-Fi networks, ensuring the safety and protection of his relatives and neighbors.

While a second year student at ALA, Abdulrasaq ‘Dulra’ Amolegbe ’20 from Nigeria founded Dot, a fintech startup company that offers a cashless transaction platform specifically designed for immigrant students in Africa. Dot collaborates with a network of financial and technology partners to provide a digital wallet, a virtual Mastercard, and seamless peer-to-peer transfers, eliminating the need for in-country bank accounts or credit/debit cards.

During his freshmen year at Lehigh University, Dulra became the first freshman in the university’s history to receive not just one, but two of the college’s most prestigious awards for entrepreneurship.

After graduating from the University of Notre Dame as a Hesburgh-Yusko Scholar, Geraldine taught EL at ALA in 2017-2018, and then transitioned to teaching at LEAF Academy, a partner school in Slovakia. Most recently, Geraldine returned home to Zimbabwe, where she taught Reasoning and Research Methods at USAP Community School. While at Stanford, Geraldine will be doing a PhD in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education, with the hopes of returning home to help shape educational interventions across the continent.

Ubong graduated from Kenyon College in 2023 and received two of the college’s top awards for her remarkable impact as Student Council President.  Her passion lies in improving healthcare access and educating others on disease prevention in marginalized and under-resourced communities via public health research, innovative biotechnological tools, and culture-informed approaches. After Kenyon, she is planning to work in the biotechnology field and later continue her studies through an MPH/Ph.D degree program.

Eddy Oketch has been a lifelong activist with a deep commitment to the people of Kenya. While at ALA, he built a peacebuilding movement that engaged over 10,000 Kenyan youth.

He is now the youngest member of Kenya’s Senate. Eddy is committed to peacebuilding, economic opportunity, and climate resilience. Eddy is supported by fellow ALA alumnus John Sankara ’09 (Kenya) who is serving as his Chief of Staff.

Fatima Al Ansar is a women’s rights advocate and consultant on peace and security in the Sahel Region. In 2018 she was named the Head of Mission at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Mali – making her the youngest Malian diplomat at the age of 26. She is also the founder of Tilwalte Girls Peace Network, a program that empowers girls to be peace ambassadors through entrepreneurship, leadership, and peace-building training.

Netflix launched ‘African Folktales, Reimagined’ in conjunction with UNESCO to identify and support up-and-coming filmmakers from across sub-Saharan Africa.

Mohamed won for his short film entitled The Enmity Djinn, and will receive $25,000 plus a $75,000 production budget to create a short film that showcases the continent’s rich cultural heritage.