Leadership in Action

Ethiopia is expected to add two million people to its workforce annually throughout the 2020s. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his government therefore set a goal of creating 20 million quality jobs between 2021 and 2030, with particular emphasis on the country’s two largest regions – Amhara and Oromia – and the capital city, Addis Ababa.

In 2015, the Ethiopian government issued the Seqota Declaration, the government’s bold pledge to eliminate childhood stunting by 2030.

As part of his drive to build Africa’s grey matter infrastructure, President Adesina has led pioneering efforts to make the Bank’s vast lending portfolio “nutrition smart”.

Champions at the highest level have joined together to end the scourge of stunting.

Adanech Abiebie, the Mayor of Addis Ababa, is determined to make Addis “the best city in Africa to raise children.”

Ghana aims to become a “learning nation” in order to accelerate its development trajectory. The goal, rooted in the country’s Education Strategic Plan 2018–2030, is to equip young people with the requisite knowledge, skills and values to become functional and productive citizens for national development.

Launched in 2012, the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program has gathered hundreds of federal ministers at its annual forums and encouraged them to raise their ambitions for their time in office. Though the program has included ministers from around the world, African leadership has been given priority. 

AMALI is a dedicated investment in strengthening the transformative leadership capabilities of African Mayors and Governors.

News of Addis Ababa’s Early Childhood Development program spread quickly in Ethiopia. 

When the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, embarked on its groundbreaking Early Childhood Development program, it quickly realized that there was a huge need for an African organization that could play a leadership role and serve as a knowledge hub in the Early Childhood Development space.

Leadership Exchanges bring together top political leaders from different countries to engage around a common predicament and explore promising interventions.

Nairobi grows at incredible speed every year. The global metropolis has a young and energetic population, and Governor Johnson Sakaja feels a responsibility to make it a city of “order, dignity, hope, and opportunity” where every child can thrive.

Cabinet workshops support a Head of State or Head of Government to align all key senior team members around their administration’s top priorities and to develop roadmaps for delivering on them. 

Africa’s cities will add almost a billion people in the coming decades – equal to the entire urban population of Europe and North America. The size and pace of the continent’s urbanization is the fastest in recorded history.

The Government of Rwanda has been a leading innovator in modernizing its school curriculum to meet the realities of today’s economy. Boosting digital skills amongst the country’s young population has been central to this reform.

In 2024, the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, led by His Excellency President Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi, committed to ensuring that 95% of all children on the islands under the age of six – a population of almost 300,000 kids – reach their full developmental potential by 2030. 

Namibia has achieved remarkable economic growth since gaining independence in 1990. The country’s resource wealth, especially in mineral resources, has helped it become an upper-middle-income country.  But the country’s economic success has yet to be translated into widespread prosperity: the youth unemployment rate stands above 40%, and 15.6% of Namibians live below the poverty line.

Lusaka and Chongwe are adjoining cities in Lusaka Province, Zambia. Their mayors are from different political parties – but, with the support of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, they are jointly launching an Early Childhood Development program that will serve the children of both municipalities.

Nigeria’s arts, culture, and creative economy sector has achieved remarkable global recognition. From Grammy-winning musicians and a thriving domestic TV and film production industry to iconic visual artists and Nobel Prize-winning authors, Nigerian cultural producers consistently showcase their talents and their nation on the biggest stages.