The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) is a signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders. The need to invest in grooming strong, results-oriented leaders comes out of the statistics: nearly 1 in 3 Africans are between the ages of 10 and 24, and approximately 60% of Africa’s total population is below the age of 35.
Who will empower and lead these young Africans? Who will shape the future of business and entrepreneurship, civic leadership, and public management? In order to answer these questions, YALI promotes three models designed to identify and empower young leaders: the YALI Mandela Washington Fellowship, YALI Network, and now the establishment of Regional Leadership Centers across Africa.
Initially, there will be four Regional Leadership Centers (Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and Southern Africa). These Centers will serve as regional hubs across the continent to encourage transformational learning and enhancing leadership skills. The YALI Regional Leadership Centers are a project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in close partnership with The MasterCard Foundation. Each Regional Leadership Center is managed under a public/private partnership.
The conceptualisation, development and curriculum content of the Regional Leadership Center Southern Africa (RLC SA) as led by the University of South Africa (Unisa) were heavily influenced by the developmental, political and economic dynamics of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
The RLC SA will develop the young African leaders in Business and Entrepreneurship Development; Civic Leadership; and Public Management and Governance through a hybrid of innovative and complimentary approaches that include contact sessions; online mentoring; online self-paced tuition; industry placements and experiential learning.
The centre will have year-long access to the state-of-the-art facilities at the Unisa School of Business Leadership in Midrand, South Africa for the English speaking participants. The same program will be replicated in Mozambique for Portuguese speaking participants as a way of reaching and opening access to the disadvantaged lusophone communities. Contemporary African issues such as HIV/AIDS, gender, responsible leadership and technology will also be infused into the program to develop young and transformative African leaders. The productive partnership with the local and USA universities; private sector partners as well as the regional bodies such as SADC and the African Union will contribute to the improved quality of the program as well as the access, reach and delivery mechanisms.
The RLC SA will, in collaboration with its partners, develop the 21st century skills that are the indispensable currency for participation, achievement and competitiveness in the global economy.
In pursuit of these ideals, the RLC SA aims to:
Objectives of the RLC SA
The objective of the course is for participants to gain the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to apply the principles, tools and systems of innovation and entrepreneurship in pursuing their career and business goals.Implementing partners: The Innovation Hub, Unisa Centre for Business Management and LifeCo UnLtd
The civic leadership course will expose participants to the practical knowledge of the administrative, financial, and organizational aspects of non-profit organizations and civil society projects. The course is aimed at graduates, professionals and participants working in or interested in community-based NGOs, projects including interest groups, youth groups and development agencies who want to be effective leaders and agents of change.Implementing partners: The Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute and the Southern Africa Trust.
The objective of this course is to prepare the next generation of Southern Africa’s public service professionals with the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully address problems of democratic governance in public administration at the local, provincial, and national levels. There will also be a focus on the development of leadership in the public sector, including a clear understanding of the role and purpose of the state to enhance good governance and service delivery; a clear and workable knowledge of management principles in the implementation of programs and projects; public finance; and the management of human resources. Implementing partners: The University of Pretoria
Develop partnerships with companies and organizations to sustain this standard of excellence
Work with experienced professional volunteers 1:1 and/or in groups
Learn cutting-edge leadership techniques
Build better communities by becoming involved in shaping the future
Study in a high-tech environment that brings leadership skills to your front door
Work in teams, embrace innovation, learn by doing
The program is open to young African leaders aged 18 - 35 years old depending on their level of experience and track record in their chosen sector.
Participants must meet the following criteria:
Young leaders from the following countries are eligible to participate in the programme: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Please note that participants from Tanzania and the DRC should apply for Yali RLC East Africa. Visit the yalieastafrica.org website for further information.
Selection for participation in the YALI RLC SA will be conducted by a selection panel which will use the following criteria to evaluate applications:
Requirements:
Skills:
Over and above, the intended beneficiaries of the program include the following:
All applications will go through a stringent selection process which will be reviewed by a selection panel. The prospective applicants will be interviewed pending final selection to the program.
Applicants will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, gender, religion, socio-economic status, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
