Addressing Africa's Leadership Challenges
“Can we elevate bright young people on this continent and encourage a paradigm shift to ask ‘How can I make a change to the African continent?’” is the question posed by Dr Reuel Khoza in the opening address of the NEPAD Business Foundation African Leadership Programme executive breakfast hosted on the 13th March 2008 at the offices of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. “The paucity of leadership is one of Africa’s challenges and has to be properly developed to establish a formal structure of leadership. Currently, emergent leadership is being set up in some African countries and is addressing the paucity of leadership.” says Dr Khoza.
The many development prospects and opportunities on the continent will enable Africa to become a global powerhouse, but this continent will struggle without adequate leadership, was the overall message delivered at the breakfast. The purpose of the event was to introduce the African Leadership Programme (ALP) to leading corporates including, ABSA, Beijing Axis, Werksmans Attorneys, to name a few. NEPAD aims to address the collaborative efforts of African leaders and it is in this vein that the WITS Business School and the NEPAD Business Foundation partnered to develop a bold and exciting initiative to focus on the development of Africa’s future leaders.
This world class programme, harnessing the best lecturers the business school has to offer, focuses on developing African leaders that are authentically African and enables them to face challenges that call for specific leadership characteristics which cannot be taught outside of Africa. Dr Christoph Maier, senior lecturer at WITS Business School, “our goal is to sculpt global leaders for Africa. Our rigorous no-nonsense approach, bodes well to sow the seeds of a vision, to mould the students in creating their own destiny, a strong focus on personal upliftment as well as paving the way for Africans to do it for themselves.”
The NBF’s leadership programme is uniquely designed to bring together aspirant leaders from the private, public and non-government sectors, and allows them to work together not only to gain an understanding of their inter-dependence but also to learn and share experiences from one another. Outside of academia, interfacing with global multilateral institutions that have an effect on African development is a crucial element that forms part of the programme. In this vein, the programme culminates in an International Study Tour which sees the students travelling abroad where they will interact with a number of high profile organizations and corporations such as the World Bank, United Nations, the OECD and the African Development Bank.
