ALA has recently partnered with the Project Management Institute (PMI) to help empower young people with the skills and mindset in entrepreneurship and project management necessary for 21st-century success.
Through a series of youth Accelerators hosted across the African continent by the ALA Recruitment Team, we aim to help prepare young leaders between the ages of 13 – 19 to better pursue their academic and professional goals.
The Accelerators offer students a platform to discuss, debate and collaborate with peers who seek to create meaningful impact in their communities. Students are given the opportunity to expand their thinking and tackle issues related to Africa and their hometowns by exploring hypothetical simulations of real-world experiences.
Built around African Leadership Academy’s signature Entrepreneurial Leadership curriculum, students are introduced to a common framework for problem-solving, called ‘BUILD’; Believe, Understand, Invent, Listen, Deliver.
This unique curriculum framework for teaching youth entrepreneurship is a way of fighting unemployment and engaging youth to lead solutions to local problems.
Students are first trained to Believe that they have the power to change the world around them and embrace a mind-set of continual improvement. They then learn to build empathy and Understand the community they intend to serve with an entrepreneurial venture. Young entrepreneurs then Invent a wide range of possible solutions, prototyping and testing their ideas by Listening to feedback from potential customers and other stakeholders. After a process of iteration and improvement, they Deliver impactful new ventures and solutions by mobilizing resources and leveraging networks.
ALA fosters a tight-knit, pan-African community with a curriculum that goes well beyond academic theory and examined content. We aim to foster critical inquiry, entrepreneurial leadership, and cross-cultural competence. We seek to develop well-rounded young people who are equipped to navigate and excel in an increasingly complex world.
The PMI Educational Foundation (PMIEF) has dedicated its efforts to cultivating partnerships with youth-serving nonprofits that share and value the same goals: to equip the next generation with a project management skill set in preparation for whichever path they choose.
ALA plans to grow its reach, increase our impact and leverage the power of entrepreneurship and project management so the next generation of global leaders excels in life, at school and in the workforce.
