Blog
Tough Times Make Tough Minds – Living Emmanuel Manirakiza’s Lessons as an Entrepreneur
In July 2012, one of my greatest teachers, Emmanuel Manirakiza ’10, passed away shortly before he was due to depart to the University of Rochester. Emmanuel had lived an extraordinary…
The Power of Moonshot Thinking – Lessons from Google X
ALA’s Networks Team ran an insightful digital speaker series this past month aimed at addressing various topics of the “Future of Work”. This series, made especially relevant due to the…
Cote D’Ivoire’s Daryl Adopo ‘14 clinches Outstanding Finance Student Award
Congratulations to Ivorian alumnus Daryl Adopo ‘14 who recently took home the 2020-2021 Outstanding Finance Student Award. This is one of the highest academic distinctions in the Economics, Finance, and…
How Do We Unlock Job Creation for Africa’s Largest Workforce?
Calling all schools, universities, accelerators, individuals, and youth organisations that are invested in reducing youth unemployment on the African continent. For the past 10 years, the Anzisha Prize has worked…
E-Fest: A Day of Innovation and Competitive Spirit
We were inspired and excited by the innovation and passion showcased by the winners and all participants in ALA’s annual Entrepreneurial Festival (E-Fest) competition. The five finalists presented creative solutions…
Student Research Exhibits Collaborative Solution-Building at Zaha 2021
Our annual Research Symposium, newly renamed Zaha, a Malagasy word meaning to explore, examine or research, produced an impressive catalogue of research projects earlier this month. This year’s conference saw…
The AL Group Network Unite Through the Creative Arts at Open Mic Night
In a completely unprecedented year, the ALA community has been brought together virtually numerous times. However, one of the most impactful community gatherings occurred around the Arts. At the very…
Cape Town Fires: Reflections from Keabetswe Zondi ‘17
South African Keabetswe Zondi graduated from ALA as part of the class of 2017. She is currently a student at the University of Cape Town’s Upper Campus pursuing a Bachelor…
Netflix Film Star Maxwell Simba ’19 Opens Production Company for African Talent
Maxwell Simba ’19, Kenyan star of the Netflix film, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, has launched his very own production company, Young Blak and Talented Vision Studios (YBTVS). The…
Natalia Sikombe ’12 Creates Cinematic Drive-in in her Hometown of Lusaka
The pandemic has adversely affected almost every area of daily life and the past year has made it abundantly clear that life may not go back to the way it…
Creative Arts at ALA Adds Student-led “Curating Africa” to Curriculum
In its new offering titled “Curating Africa”, our Creative Arts department is deconstructing and reimagining the concept of curation. Year 2 student Towela “Kams” Tembo ‘19 from Botswana is leading…
What Should Educators Know about Entrepreneurial Leadership?
By Oluwabusola Majekodunmi, Entrepreneurial Leadership Faculty from Nigeria. Many have wondered why Entrepreneurial Leadership (EL) is one of the core subjects taught at African Leadership Academy (ALA). The answer is…
Aniaba N’guessan ‘18 puts Entrepreneurial Lessons to use in Ivory Coast
Just four months after his ALA graduation and alumnus Aniaba Moaye Jean-Baptiste N’guessan ‘18 is already making an impact in his community in the best way he knows how: using…
ALAMAU 2021: Youth Placing Themselves at the Helm of Solution Building
The eighth edition of African Leadership Academy’s Model African Union (ALAMAU) took place between the 18th and 21st March, making this the first virtual conference in ALAMAU’s history. Led by…
Amazon Places Kaffa Sakho ’13 at #1 for New Releases in African Poetry
On 19 January 2021 ALA alumna Kaffa Sakho ’13 released her new poetry book titled Etcetera – A Conversation about Love, to much adoration. Within its first few weeks of…
Google Explores ALA’s Seminal Readings in the Workplace
One of the core activities in ALA’s unique curriculum, Seminal Readings, has made its way to Google. Three ALA alums, Goodman Lepota ‘11, Tom Mbega ‘10 and Alheri Egor-Egbe ‘11,…
Year 1 Students Awarded Diplomatic Commendation at Harvard Model United Nations Conference
Over the past month, ten Year-1 students participated in the Harvard Model United Nations conference and impressed their moderators coming away with two awards of Diplomatic Commendation. Participating in sessions…
Mobilizing Youth For Change Through the Pariah Nation Podcast
“What does it mean when we start our history at slavery?” asks Adnan Shafi ’17, a Kenyan ALA alum who is asking these and other questions on his powerful educational…
10 Tips for Women Who Seek to Serve in Public Leadership
“Politics is essentially about solving the problem of the whole … Leadership is gender neutral” ~ Dr. Oby Ezekwesili At a time when the world has been driven into introspection,…
Mainza Moono ’08 Democratizes Art Ownership With New Venture
Picture three people in a gallery: A painter, a hotel manager, and a young urban professional. They don’t know it yet, but each person here is facing a difficulty that…