Twenty percent of the young leaders at ALA are brought to our attention by community members who nominate them. You may know a young leader at secondary school or equivalent who has shown leadership potential in your community. We accept nominations for high school students with potential from as young as 13 years old.
Develop – Participate in developing Africa’s next generation of transformational leaders
Discover – Help a student discover a life-changing opportunity that they weren’t aware of before
Reward – Reward students for incredible achievements, commitment to service, passion for Africa, and leadership potential
We want to find students aged 13-18 who meet and exceed the high standards of excellence we require in our application process. Click here to learn more about our admission criteria. You don’t have to wait until the nominee is in the age range to be accepted to send us a nomination.
We use your information to connect the student directly to ALA’s application resources
Nominations help us find the best and brightest young leaders on the African continent
Fill out the nomination form below and we’ll follow up with you and the student
If you are a parent or a prospective applicant, you do not need to fill the nomination form. You may simply proceed to submit an application.
We comb Africa for youth who show the spark of initiative; who see what can be and strive to make it so.
Young leaders complete an intensive program of intellectual growth and hands-on leadership development.
Young leaders are guided by a powerful network along their path to create transformative change in Africa.
Through theatre, music, visual, literary, and performing art, storytelling and the creative engagement of our communities we can decolonise and de-commodify our minds, bodies and continent together.
When I joined ALA, my passion for finance and business was fostered. I currently work as an investment specialist, focussed on African investment initiatives that will change the continent.
I came to ALA for the students, but I stayed because of the colleagues – the staff and faculty who are the heartbeat of this place. With them, I get to learn every day. I get to be challenged and I get to grow. With them, the work is more fun. The work becomes more meaningful because it is done with people I care about.”
Working at ALA affords me the opportunity to meet with, and be part of the experience of each one of our students through the totality of our pastoral care programmes. Students who on arrival are so confused and reticent, develop social skills that enable them to become better communicators and collaborators within a short time through the various spaces that our programming created for this. Seeing the strong bonds that develop among students and adults while at ALA, and the connection I personally have with them beyond the Two Year Programme makes me glad and fulfilled.”
I believe that access to quality education can transform lives and I work with a community of entrepreneurs to make that happen.
ALA shaped my daughter Waigumo into the leader she is today. My deep appreciation goes to the school for providing opportunities to enable her embrace and truly discover her multifaceted characteristics and unknown talents.
Through the various opportunities ALA provided, she developed sound depth in academic research, engaged in arenas that increased her holistic knowledge on African youth and political leadership, empowerment of women on the African continent and engaged in riveting discourses on how to propel the versatile continent into unforeseen heights. With fondness, we are grateful to ALA for not only inspiring her deep passion for mathematics but propelling her to a mind shift of holistic excellence; By gaining a network of like-minded and lifelong friends, I have no doubt that Waigumo will aid in the development of a more equitable, sustainable, and technologically driven future for Africa.
I came to ALA intending to stay for a year, learn some new skills and see another part of the African continent. I’ve now spent 7 years at ALA (over two stints) and I’m not done learning. The daily motivation of coming to work as part of an intentional community is deeply enriching. As is the reward of being challenged by students and peers who are thoughtful, committed and driven. I am also grateful for the many opportunities to laugh.
Every student is unique but she/he needs to be nurtured further in order to bloom and ALA is the place that provides the necessary space and opportunities to bring out this uniqueness of its students. Here, no one is a competitor to anyone but rather, only a complement for each other. The student only competes with herself/himself to reach greater heights. How ALA transforms young promising minds within 2 years (filled with challenges, opportunities, diversity, care and fun) into future passionate leaders, can only be experienced and cherished over a lifetime by a parent.
In 2009, a friend casually mentioned a certain African Leadership Academy during our morning work out. The following year, I went to Johannesburg to see this too-good-to-be-true Academy. Fast-forward 10 years after that visit, all my children have graduated from ALA! I don’t know of any better transformational experience my wife and I could have offered our children!
When Francis approached us back in 2013, as Parents, that he wanted to go to ALA, and would therefore fall behind by a year, if he was to leave Bishop Mackenzie International School (BMIS) in Lilongwe, Malawi, we debated the merit of this audacious move. Eventually, we resolved that, no, let us not stand in his way. Let him join ALA, maybe his destiny will be shaped there. I am glad to say, we do not regret he attended ALA. By the time he was finishing at ALA, we noticed that he had certainly matured beyond his age and peers at BMIS. He was brimming with enthusiasm and full of confidence, with a clear focus of what he wanted to do in life. We believe ALA taught him to believe in himself.
