Having been selected to participate in the Young African Leaders Initiative Regional Leadership Centre for Southern Africa (Yali RLC-SA), which began virtually at the beginning of July and ended with a colourful graduation at the UNISA Main Campus in Pretoria last week has been a tremendous experience in both my personal and professional growth journey.
Seventeen emerging young leaders from Zimbabwe were selected, six of us under the business and entrepreneurship track whilst 11 got in under the civic engagement track and they did grill, mentor — and made us work especially during the last two weeks.
Deriving from the atmosphere, euphoria and energy at the UNISA Graduate School of Business Leadership (SBL) in Midrand where 114 participants from 13 Sadc countries were convening for the in-residence program, one thing is clear — The future of Africa is young and bright.
About Yali
The Young African Leaders Initiative (Yali) is a signature effort by the American government to invest in the next generation of African leaders and is the brainchild of former American president Barrack Obama which officially commenced in 2014.
The initiative started with the Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF) where the United States government selects 700 emerging leaders from Africa who are impacting their communities through the business leadership, civic leadership and, public management tracks and places them in different universities and colleges across America where they receive mentorship through academic coursework, networking and the opportunity to visit some of the best entrepreneurial ventures and businesses in the Silicon Valley. During the programme, Fellows will connect with US communities through community service and other cultural experiences. The Mandela Washington Fellowship is funded by the US Department of State and is administered by IREX.
To groom and reach more African leaders who are creating positive impact in their respective communities, Yali has over the past decade established four regional leadership centres across Africa. These Regional Leadership Centres (RLCs) are located at higher education institutions in sub-Saharan Africa and offer leadership training programs to young leaders between the ages of 18 and 35.
By providing in-person and online training, networking, and professional development opportunities, the RLCs serve as a place for young people to collaborate on the continent and are funded by the United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) in close partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and other private sector partners.
The are four regional leadership centres offering leadership training throughout the year.
- Yali RLC-Southern Africa which is located at the UNISA Graduate Business School of Leadership (SBL) near Pretoria in South Africa
- Yali-RLC East Africa which is located at the Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya
- Yali-RLC West Africa which is located at Ghana Institute of Public Management and Administration(GIPMA) ,Accra, Ghana
- Yali RLC West Africa which is located at Centre Africain d’Etudes Supérieures en Gestion (CESAG), Dakar, Senegal
Deriving from this structural make-up of the RLCs, Zimbabwe falls under the Southern Africa cluster and as such our in-residence program commenced on August 4, at the UNISA Graduate School of Business leadership where over 100 emerging young leaders and professionals convened daily before breaking out into different tracks and classes namely business, civic engagement and public management.
Prior to that, we had spent the entire July conducting virtual lectures and discussions on some of the challenges which confront African communities and possible ways of addressing them.
In his opening remarks at the opening of the regional fellowship, Yali RLC-SA director and chief of Party Harry Ntombela stated they had established the centres to enable like-minded young people to network and collaborate and would soon establish a platform that would enable all Yali Alumni’s to connect with their counterparts from other regional leadership centres across Africa.
“We are building a movement of young people who are like minded so that they collaborate and foster Africa’s economic growth” stated Ntombela.
Ntombela added that they now had a network of over 28 000 Alumni’s across Africa.
During the in-residence programme, I had the great honour and privilege of exchanging ideas and volunteering to share insights on brand storytelling with fellow emerging young leaders from different Sadc countries under the business and entrepreneurship track.
In one of my marketing-related presentations, I highlighted the importance of “building compelling narratives” as an effective technique of enticing customers through brand storytelling using examples of successful Zimbabwean brands such as Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and Nyaradzo Group which had established solid footprints at the global stage. I also shared how these two Zimbabwean-born global brands were also known for their social impact and environmental sustainability initiatives respectively.
We also had the privilege of visiting some of the fast-growing start-ups and businesses within South Africa’s creative space which were leveraging on technology and creating social impact.
The first was BantuKings Studios–a company that specialises in the production of creative and advertising content and has worked with major companies such as Engine and Heineken with its creative flair carrying an African touch. It is composed of a team of young people, and its founder is a Yali Alumni who shared his testimony on how participating in the programme helped him scale up his business operations.
The other visit was to Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct–a hub which incubates startups and SME’s with its primary focus being to create world-class African digital entrepreneurs. As such they provide startups and entrepreneurs with the tools and support they need to grow and scale their businesses through their industry-leading Enterprise Development Model, which focuses on developing skills for the digital economy while unearthing digital startups and talent in Africa. They also had an animation studio where they offer paid internships to selected applicants and have a strong portfolio consisting of South African brands, celebrities and key players within the animation industries.
According to recent statistics, the global animation market size was worth around US$371.21 billion in 2023 and is predicted to grow to around US$580.82 billion by 2032 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 5.1% between 2024 and 2032.
It is my strong view that the Young African Leaders Initiative is a good grooming, networking and collaborating platform to shape the next generation of African leaders in business, civic society as well as leaders in government/public sector through its public management track.
For those in the business and entrepreneurial space, the Yali programme will equip them with practicalities associated with planning and modelling businesses and enterprises which are sustainable and can thrive in difficult and volatile environments using the lean start-up method.
The general consensus from our facilitators and professors in our business and entrepreneurship track was that small businesses have a greater role to play in turning around Africa’s future economic prospects.
According to a 2022 Finscope survey in Zimbabwe alone SME’s contribute over US$8 billion to the country’s national gross domestic product.
For those with interest in the civic engagement or leadership track–Yali will equip them with tools and learning resources which enables them to run sustainable organisations which can even thrive without depending on donor funding and create more positive social impact thus transforming our communities in Africa.
For young people working in government or with interest in the public sector–Yali will equip them with knowledge and learning resources on how to advocate for policy and implementation of sustainable projects which will make positive social impact in their communities.
The late former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was correct to observe that “young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered they can be key agents for development and peace”.
By the way, applications for the 2025 Mandela Washington Fellowship are open for young people aged 25-35 on https://www.mandelawashingtonfellowship.org/apply/
- Fungayi Antony Sox is the founder and managing partner at TisuMazwi–a consulting, communications, media and publishing company based in Harare. He is also a newly inducted Alumni of the Yali Regional Leadership Centre for Southern Africa. For feedback, he can be reached on +263 776 030 949 or on LinkedIn at Fungayi Antony Sox.