Foundation equips 1,700 emerging leaders with skills

The PMI Educational Foundation (PMIEF) has equipped over 1,700 young African leaders with project management skills through its partnership with the African Leadership Academy (ALA).

The foundation recently donated a multi-million rand grant to expand its partnership with the academy, which seeks to introduce students to project management through the build-in-a-box curriculum.

Ashley Forsyth, executive director at PMIEF, said the foundation has equipped over 1000 young African leaders and is excited to partner with ALA in training potential leaders around the continent.

“By partnering with ALA, we have equipped over 1,700 emerging African leaders with project management skills in the recent year and are excited about continuing our relationship.

Through ALA, we will work to transform Africa by developing a powerful network of young leaders who will work together to address Africa’s greatest challenges, achieve extraordinary social impact, and accelerate the continent’s growth trajectory.

“We’re truly excited to collaborate with such an exemplary and impactful organisation,” Forsyth said.
George Asamani, managing director at PMIEF sub-Saharan Africa, quoting Henry Ford, in his speech, said, “a country’s competitiveness starts not on the factory floor or the engineering lab.

“It starts in the classroom. Passion, attitude, and character are one side of the enterprise coin, and having a program that sharpens the leadership and project management skills required to become entrepreneurs definitely helps and yields better results.

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The programme is well-integrated with the industry, and PMI South Africa chapter volunteers often provide the required support and participate with students in their projects and serve as mentors.”
Asamani said, “The programme’s approach is well aligned to this year’s World Youth Skills Day theme – skilling teachers, trainers, and youth for a transformative future. Entrepreneurship has been a driver of global economic growth, and Africa should be no different.”

Students enrolled in ALA’s flagship two-year programme have led and facilitated over 60 build-in-box camps for over 2000 of their peers in cities like Lagos, Nairobi, Accra, Harare, Bamenda, Kinshasa, and Port Elizabeth.
Projections by the United Nations show that the world population will hit 10 billion by 2055. Approximately 95 percent of this growth will occur in low and middle-income countries.

In particular, the population of sub-Saharan Africa is projected to double by 2050. As of 2022, 40 percent of Africa’s population was under 15, making it the youngest continent.

According to the African Development Bank (ADB), the continent sees some 12 million students graduate each year and compete for three million jobs – resulting in sub-Saharan African youth becoming entrepreneurs by necessity and not by choice.

ALA’s strategy is to train its students in entrepreneurship and project management and enable them to go into communities to train more young people to run and manage businesses.