Engage Africa: How ALA’s Global Scholars Program boosts local business

African Leadership Academy’s Global Scholars Program is no ordinary summer camp. It’s more than any leadership camp you’ll encounter, too. This unique mid-year holiday program is a transformative African experience that directly benefits participants and all our program partners alike.

A unique curriculum

GSP’s Engage Africa program is underpinned by ALA’s Entrepreneurial Learning curriculum, and designed to equip modern youth with skills that hone their social development awareness.

The combined content of theory and experiential activities give participants a deeper understanding of Entrepreneurial Leadership, with design-led projects that lead to a greater understanding of Africa, its people and enterprises.

How it works

Campers are required to dig into the practicalities of ALA’s BUILD model, and interact directly with young local entrepreneurs to figure out how to solve some of the problems these businesses face in either expanding impact in the community or accelerating the growth or scale of their operations. They engage with entrepreneurs to understand the root cause of the problem, then form groups and work out possible solutions, which they then present to the entrepreneurs at an Ideas Festival.

Knowing that their ideas have the ability to transform real existing businesses – and change lives – has an immeasurable impact on participants, as feedback from our participants and their parents attest.

Boosting local businesses

But local entrepreneurs aligned to GSP’s Entrepreneurial Leadership program reckon they’re the ones who benefit most, though.

“ALA’s Global Scholars Program left a big impact on our organization; we had students bringing in different ideas to grow our business and today we utilizing some of those ideas in a daily basis,” reveals Thabo Modise, Managing Director of Shova Lifestyle Origin.

Shova, a Soweto-based events and exhibitions company that also comprises a lifestyle boutique, an art gallery, is one of the small local businesses students engage with in the program, to determine challenges and opportunities for growth. “The presentations led by the student group was overwhelming, considering the short time frame of the program, and left us with the courage to work towards achieving our goals,” notes Thabo.

The company has successfully implemented various ideas proposed by students, he adds. “Since the program we have grown in different aspects of the business, especially online marketing – and we will continue to consider implementing other ideas as far as we can.”

Would you, too, like to be a catalyst for change? Find more info on ALA’s Global Summer Program here, and see how you, too can develop life-altering leadership and entrepreneurial skills by exploring South Africa here.

WATCH our videos and see how the program has transformed previous participants.

WATCH VIDEO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WORK GSP STUDENTS DID WITH SHOVA LIFESTYLE

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