Young African Leaders Initiative 2020

Northwestern University’s Leadership in Business Institute builds upon a strong foundation of academic excellence and experiential learning at some of the top businesses in the Chicago area, equipping Fellows with the tools, connections, and practical skills to implement their ideas in their home countries and positively impact their communities. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the United States, Northwestern University provides Fellows access to top experts in a variety of disciplines. The Institute is implemented by the Program of African Studies, which has supported academic research and exchanges with Africa since its inception in 1948, and the Kellogg School of Management, which utilizes an executive education approach taught by faculty practitioners to foster innovation at all levels of the business process. Combining business acumen with introspective leadership development, the Institute helps Fellows become effective business and community leaders. The curriculum provides the fundamentals of entrepreneurship through classroom discussion, case studies, interactions with business leaders, and development of business plans with an overarching goal of developing methods for thinking through the challenges that will face the Fellows as entrepreneurs. The leadership sessions dive into issues of team-building and ethical leadership, culminating in the development of individual leadership plans and pitches of their businesses. Northwestern’s proximity to the city of Chicago allows us take advantage of Chicago’s cultural richness to provide Fellows the opportunity to connect with experts in their fields, engage with communities in meaningful service, experience the nuances of American culture, and gain invaluable knowledge and skills to take back home. Our experiential learning site visits complement the academic component by providing opportunities to interact with successful businesspeople and entrepreneurs as well as socially-motivated individuals while demonstrating how to execute business plans at organizations of various sizes and with different goals.