The Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship

The Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship is the flagship programme of the not-for-profit African Leadership Institute (AfLI).

Established in 2003 by retired South African business leaders Sean Lance and Peter Wilson, it aims to nurture the leadership talents of exceptional African professionals in the 25 to 40 age range, in order to produce a network of servant-leaders spanning the continent.

The institute is a virtual one, run by a small network of volunteers in the UK and Africa.

Its work is championed by the celebrated Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel-laureate and longstanding voice of conscience to leaders worldwide, who as patron inspires participants at the beginning of their journey to commit their talents to serving the needs of the continent.

The programme is run in conjunction with Oxford University, and a variety of other institutions across Africa, with the financial backing of commercial sponsors with interests in Africa; mining giant Rio Tinto, pharmaceutical multinational GlaxoSmithKline, Investec Bank and ASO Savings and Loans Plc.

The four sponsors are allocated a limited number of places on the course to award to employees they think hold merit.

Participants of the fellowship programme are drawn from across Africa and from various sectors, ranging from commerce to charities.

According to the panel, the successful participants are selected on merit, without regard to ethnicity or gender.  

The objective of the programme is not to ‘teach’ leadership in the usual business school sense, but to push people out of their comfort zones by means of a set of experiences and exercises whereby their real instincts as leaders are supposed to come to the fore. 

Talks by internationally recognised leaders in different spheres, who are more than willing to share their experiences of the challenges and secrets of leadership, spark debate on some of Africa’s persisting problems and taboos.

If successful, the fellowship will not only create a new set of self-aware, value-led leaders but also a close, collaborative network of African leaders who will act as mirrors to one another as they rise in their leadership positions; a check-and-balance system for the next generation of powerful Africans.

For more information about the programme, click here.