The Programme for African Leadership is an extra-curricular programme available exclusively to graduate students of African nationality currently studying at the School focused on leadership development and networking,
12th cohort of PfAL students meet Firoz Lalji
Firoz Lalji meets with PfAL students
The bespoke programme of activities and events throughout the academic year aims to educate, challenge, and inspire students as well as providing an opportunity for them to reflect on their own development as future leaders of African organisations and communities.
- In Autumn Term, students work on a group project that provides an opportunity to develop key leadership skills such as problem-solving, creative and critical thinking, influencing, and collaboration.
- Winter Term consists of a series of student-led debates in which students have a platform to discuss and explore issues facing the African continent and Africans today.
- In addition, PfAL hosts talks by visiting business leaders and political figures and each year provides a exclusive experiences to participating students. For example, in 2016/17 PfAL students enjoyed an extended tour of Westminster Palace led by the Rt Hon. Lord Boateng, and were also invited to attend the 10-year anniversary event for the Ibrahim Index of African Governance.
- Social events develop and strengthen new friendships among the group. Every student who completes the programme is presented with a certificate at the final PfAL event in June and invited to join the growing PfAL Network.
- PfAL was born from the shared vision between LSE and the Lalji family to empower a new generation of ethical, effective and authentic African leaders. The first PfAL cohort arrived in London in March 2012 and since then 440 bright, emerging talents from across Africa have joined the PfAL Network, with around 70 students enrolling in the programme every year.
- In July 2016, PfAL joined the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, which centralises LSE's Africa-related activities and research under one roof. As part of the Institute, PfAL stands in an unique position to draw on the range of knowledge, expertise, resources and opportunities across the School to challenge, enrich and inspire participating students on their paths towards becoming future leaders.
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PfAL coaches provide students on the Programme for African Leadership the opportunity to learn first-hand about career development and leadership skills. Their invaluable experience is offered to students as part of the programme's group coaching sessions.
’Dapo Oyewole
Over the past two decades, ’Dapo has worked at the intersection of governance, public policy, international development, management consulting and global affairs. In the public sector, he has served as Special Adviser on International & Interparliamentary Affairs to the Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives; and also, as a Special Adviser to two cabinet ministers.
In the private sector he has worked as Director of Public Sector Development at Palladium Group and also as Senior Public Sector Adviser at McKinsey & Company where he spearheaded engagement with government and donors. In the international development sector, he headed the Research, Policy and Strategy Team of SPARC - the UK’s Department for International Development’s (DFID) technical assistance programme in Nigeria.
He is a Senior Yale World Fellow, Senior Aspen New Voices Fellow, Chevening Scholar (LSE MSc, Global Politics) and co-editor of the book ‘Development as Dignity: Frontline Stories from Development Practitioners in the Global South’ and author of ‘Ten key Lessons African Leaders Should Learn from Tackling the Covid-19 Pandemic’.
Frances Mensah Williams CBE
Frances brings extensive experience gained from Director level and senior leadership HR roles in the UK and Africa across sectors including finance, energy, advertising, technology, and not-for-profit. She coaches top level executives across multiple regions charged with implementing strategic, organisational and culture change, as well as aspiring board candidates, women leaders, and professionals from underrepresented groups. Her multicultural background and working experience in both developed and emerging markets gives her a deep understanding of leading across cultures and the importance of diversity and inclusion to achieve results.
An award-winning entrepreneur, Frances has led talent development projects in the UK and Africa and established ReConnect Africa.com, a careers portal for African professionals. A bestselling novelist and author of three business books, she also writes feature articles and thought leadership pieces for national newspapers and magazines. Frances was awarded the title of CBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2020 for services to Africa and Africans in the UK.
Yousra Abdelmoneim
Yousra Abdelmoneim is a senior manager at PwC UK in Commercial Control assurance working on advising Capital Projects and largely focused on the Middle East. She joined PwC as a placement year student and re-joined the firm's Banking and Capital Markets audit graduate programme after completing her BSc Economics at the University of Sussex. She completed her ACA exams and became an ICAEW chartered accountant and then transferred to Internal Audit working with Local Government and became CIA qualified.
Alongside her role she co-leads the PwC refugee working group which is aimed at supporting refugees into professional employment and leads Social Mobility initiatives within her department aimed at raising awareness.
Mujo Othol
Mujo Othol is a Transformative Coach and Senior Innovation Consultant. As a Coach, she guides her clients in navigating life and career transitions and leading with a sense of alignment and courage. As an Innovation Consultant, Mujo works with leading companies to design human-centred products, services and cultures.
She has worked with organisations such as NatWest, Nivea, Avon, Sanofi and Save The Children in a global capacity. She holds an MSc in African Development from LSE and a BSc in Economics from Leicester University.
Dr Akanimo Odon
Akanimo Odon holds a master’s degree in Environmental Rehabilitation, a PhD in Environmental Management from Lancaster University, and business and enterprise certifications and fellowships from Cambridge University, Stanford University, and MIT. He specialises in cross-border education and innovations in research and is an expert in navigating, developing, and managing relationships between academia, government and industry in Africa for economic viability, research impact and student employability.
He recently founded Flexy-Learn, a one-stop online shop for distance learning provision for Africa. He is Principal Consultant of Envirofly Consulting UK. He is the Strategic Adviser of the Innov8 Hub and Mentor on the Nigerian Government TETFUND funded TETFAIR Programme.