African Leadership Academy: Training Africa’s Future Leaders
The African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa is training students to become the future leaders of the continent. The founder, Fred Swaniker, was born in Ghana but throughout his life, lived in different countries including, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Gambia and South Africa. According to Swaniker the ALA tasks students with starting their own businesses and working closely with the local communities situated around the school. Students are also taught about the roles of CEOs and CFOs as well as other senior positions within business, politics and industry to prepare them for a future at the very top of society.
From his experience of recruiting across the continent, Swaniker concludes that Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe are producing the best students, while schools are weakest in Liberia and South Africa. So far over 400 students have taken part in the ALA’s leadership program and over the next 50 years, Swaniker says the school’s aim is to create 6,000 new leaders for Africa.
Founder & Chief Executive Officer of the African Leadership Academy
Fred brings a uniquely pan-African perspective to African Leadership Academy. He grew up across the African continent, living in Ghana, the Gambia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, and he has lived as an adult in South Africa and Nigeria. During his time as a consultant for McKinsey and Company, Fred provided strategic advice to the management teams of large companies in Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and South Africa.
Fred holds an MBA degree from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he was named an Arjay Miller Scholar, a distinction awarded to the top ten percent of each graduating class. Fred also holds a B.A. degree magna cum laude in economics from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
