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7/31/2019 New Generation of African Leaders
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New Generation of African LeadersFEBRUARY 27, 2012 BYAFRICANYOUTHJOURNALS1 COMMENT
By Fanele Love; Swaziland
The welcome page on Tony Elumelus business and philanthropy website prominently
features Mr. Elumelus smiling face, dressed in a sharp suit, accompanied by the words:
Nobody is going to develop Africa, except us.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation is a model for the innovative solutions to complicated social
problems that are increasingly gaining traction across the African continent. These solutions
are by Africas young and successful generation of leaders who are using their talent,
expertise, experience and networks to contribute to development and progress.
Perhaps the most well-known face of this new cadre of leaders is Fred Swaniker, the
charismatic and visionary co-founder of the African Leadership Academy (ALA). ALA is an
unconventional secondary school nestled in the economic hub of Africa, a strategic and
successful academic institution whose guiding mandate is mentoring and developing Africas
next generation of leaders. Indeed Swaniker, who is also the co-founder of the African
Leadership Network, has chosen, as his challenge, to address the far-reaching leadership
problems faced by many African countries. His solution? Skip the politicians and inefficient
regimes, and focus on young people with demonstrated leadership potential. These young
people, the golden eggs of the continent, are carefully tended to and nurtured inJohannesburg, where leadership, entrepreneurship and values of effective leadership are
taught alongside traditional classes such as Biology and Chemistry.
Another figure of note, a woman who has amassed incredible admiration among young and
old people alike, in Africa and around the world, is the 36-year old Khanyi Dhlomo. Founder
of Ndalo Media that publishes Destiny, Destiny Connect, and Destiny Man, Khanyi is using
her well-managed personal and professional brand to impart knowledge successful on self-
and life- and career-management. Her midas touch was first apparent as a young television
reporter for SABC 1, when ratings of the news shot up the roof as South Africa marveled at
her natural grace, composure, and an eloquence not immediately associated with black
South Africans. An MBA graduate from Harvard, she is positioning Ndalo Media as a
producer of quality business and lifestyle content delivered across a number of platforms
and industries. Any critic is immediately silenced by the sheer success of this innovative
media company, only four years after its conception.
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Ndibuisi Ekekwe, Founder, AFRIT
Ndubuisi Ekekwe (pictured above), founder ofAfrican Institution of Technology (AFRIT) is
also a part of this group of fresh African leaders. The goal of AFRIT is to be an advocate of
emerging technologies into developing economies where they can use them to create wealth
and prosperity. We are change agents to position Africa to survive the new technology era
like nanomics by helping firms innovate, differentiate and compete internationally. We help
nurture a new generation of technical leaders from Africa.
African Heroes will be focusing on this generation of leaders, our role models and mentors,
through interviews and commentaries, closely following and chronicling their collective
contribution to development in Africa. We will look beyond their impressive personal and
professional achievements, and get to the core of the new ideas and solutions with which
they are tackling our lagging and nascent challenges, using the infrastructure only the
present afford: technology, communications, networks, improving governance andmacroeconomic conditions.
The premise behind this approach is getting the human story behind Africas growth, by
focusing not on institutions such as the government or the African Development Bank, but on
the people whose daily decisions chart progress on the ground.
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Indeed the hope is that reading this, African Youth Journals readers will recognize similar
characteristics in themselves, and further recognize that it takes no special human species,
but simply intellect with intention, will and action, to leave a lasting impact on the Africa and
positively touch the lives of its expanding population.
Fanele Chester is a Swaziland citizen and a University of Chicago Student. An art lover and
and entrepreneur, she has done an amazing job promoting African art and model African
leaders with her popular
blogs: http://fanelelove.blogspot.com/andhttp://interviewafrica.tumblr.com/.
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