Everything is radically shifting and changing, as industries, sectors, economies and cultures quickly adapt to a “new normal”, given the COVID19 reality. It becomes imperative now for visionaries working for development outcomes, to re-evaluate their purposeful anchor, and answer the question – why do we do what we do?

We will explore the important conversations around our theory of change and how disruptions may change the direction of our work, but we must learn the definers and drivers of our vision and mission as well as indicators of true social impact.

Guest Mentor: ‘Lamide Johnson

‘Lamide Johnson is a storyteller, teacher & author. He is passionate about young entrepreneurs, helping them build high-performance companies.

Today, more than ever before, it is not enough to focus on the goal of social investment, making a difference or developing communities. We must pursue new innovations that can match the complexities of the crises that we seek to address.

Whether in healthcare, gender advocacy, education, environment or financial inclusion; we must rethink our ideas and solutions. How can our products, processes and programs today deliver greater social value and reach more beneficiaries, consumers and customers than before?

Guest Mentor: Ndidi Nwuneli (Nigeria)

Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, MFR is Founder of LEAP Africa and Co-Founder of Sahel Consulting. She has 23 years of experience in international development, and through her work with Sahel has shaped agriculture strategy and policy in West Africa for a range of clients in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity of people and the planet, now and into the future. At the heart of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is an urgent call for action in global partnership.

To build the continent, it is now important to set your advocacy, projects, social enterprise or business within the context of Sustainable Development. In this Module, we will explore a systematic understanding of the Goals, as well as a step-by-step framework for aligning our interests and initiatives with the SDGs.

Guest Mentor: Crystal Chigbu

Crystal Chigbu is a social entrepreneur, a development consultant and the founder of the IREDE Foundation, a social impact organisation with a focus on children and teens living with disabilities.

Africa’s future is bright – with an economic pulse infused with new commercial vibrancy, widespread growth across sectors, new creative surges in its fashion and entertainment and an emergence of social saviors who augment inefficient governments.

This Module shows us what it means to rise with Africa and contribute to her development in meaningful ways. Gbenga Sesan’s evocative journey to connecting underserved youth with ICT-enable opportunities across the continent will offer pragmatic answers for starting, sustaining and scaling impact today.

Guest Mentor: ‘Gbenga Sesan (Nigeria) 

Gbenga Sesan is the Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN).

In this very insightful session, you’d understand what it takes for your nonprofit, civil society organization or business to really meet the needs of people, and solve systemic problems.

Whether you are keen to tackle corruption, unemployment, poor healthcare delivery, or sexual abuse; you can learn how to use design thinking as a human-centered approach to problem-solving. You’d also find the thinking, tools and techniques needed to uncover creative solutions today.

Guest Mentor: Emmanuel Agunze

Emmanuel Agunze has over six years of experience in the not-for-profit sector and over three years’ experience in the community development sector, specifically focusing on slum-reorganization and education for children living in slums. He is the founder of The Makoko Dream where he has successfully advocated for the placement of more than 100 Makoko slum children in schools since 2016, thereby reducing the illiteracy of children living in slums.

To make a lasting difference, we must not merely get it right today, but make tomorrow better. The important question thus is this: “how do we adopt entrepreneurial approaches to tackle persistent challenges around us especially poverty, while we positively impact people, earn profit and protect the planet”?

This Module x-rays the key mindsets required for social innovators to spart transformations for the long term, as well as apply concepts of circular economy to run businesses and organizations in more sustainable ways.

Guest Mentor: Olusola Amusan

Olusola Amusan is an Artificial Intelligence Evangelist, the Author of Are You Branded or Stranded, a global shaper of the World Economic Forum. He is passionate about social entrepreneurship as a key to unlocking Africa’s immense potential. He is also widely acclaimed as one of Africa’s Youngest Growth Consultants.

Africa’s development sector has in the past, underestimated the importance of successful government engagement in its advocacy. Practitioners sometimes treat the government as enemies, since we may find ourselves fixing public sector inefficiencies.

Yet, our systemic and sustainable success is significantly connected to building partnership with the government, as well as pushing for public policies that improve development outcomes over time. The possibilities of industry-wide legislation, funding and infrastructure support make it all the more crucial to build capacities for government relations.

Guest Mentor: Oluseun Onigbinde (Nigeria)    

Oluseun Onigbinde, CEO of BudgIT and Tracka, platforms that apply technology to intersect citizen engagement with institutional improvement, to facilitate societal change.

How healthy, resilient and structured is your organization? Even if you’re a solopreneur, or a start-up working with volunteers, you still need to understand and adapt your framework of Strategy, Systems, People, Process and Culture, to stay relevant in the Post-Covid19 world!

Across key metrics including adaptive leadership, operational agility, financial efficiency and human capital management; we will explore what it takes to evolve your organization along with Africa’s rapidly shifting social sector as well as grow competitive advantage.

Guest Mentor: Mrs Ini Laura Abimbola (Nigeria)             

Ini Abimbola, the CEO and Lead Consultant of ThistlePraxis Consulting Limited has over 15 years working in the international development space; broad consulting experience & expertise on capacity building, visioning, planning & implementation, sustainability, projects & innovations management, process re-engineering, strategy & toolkit development among others.

It is no longer just large multinational corporations who should invest in and implement an effective Corporate Social Responsibility strategy. But now, a prime priority for every forward-thinking and responsible business.

Whether working through philanthropic efforts, partnerships with the civil society, environmental conservation, diversity practices, or supporting volunteerism; CSR is going to be a big part of our future – and learning to do it right is a win-win for all parties involved!

Guest Mentor – Oluseyi Ojurongbe

Oluseyi Ojurongbe is a CSR practitioner, promoting the Sustainable Development Goals, Leadership & Business Ethics, and striving for positive change. He currently manages the Sahara Foundation – the vehicle for Sahara Group’s Personal and Corporate Social Responsibility (PCSR) initiatives. He has successfully managed social projects across Cote d’ Ivoire, Nigeria, Singapore, Tanzania and Zambia.

In a society filled with so much poverty, pain and prejudice; it takes both businesses and non-profits to spread hope and make a difference. Thus, entrepreneurs must rise with a compelling vision, to contribute meaningfully to our communities, as well as create social value through products and services.

In this Module, you’d learn the most effective business strategies for activating positive social impact in small, or big ways. The journey usually begins with a business owner who sees a problem to fix, or a future to create, or even a narrative to correct.

Guest Mentor: Adepeju Jaiyeoba (Nigeria)

Adepeju Jaiyeoba, founder of Mothers’ Delivery Kit, a company that manufactures and distributes birth kits for purchase irrespective of the remote location.

There’s growing drive for measuring SROI (Social Return on Investment) from impact investors, donors, foundations and government agencies; and understandably so, changemakers must raise the bar, and commit to better evaluation and impact data.

In the days ahead, purpose-led businesses, social enterprises and nonprofits will have to show proof of value – economic, social and environment – to stakeholders.  This Module shows you how to do so in a balanced and compelling way.

Guest Mentor: Tope Ogundipe

Tope Ogundipe, works with Paradigm Initiative, and serves as the organization’s Director of Programs, overseeing its digital inclusion and digital rights advocacy programs in Africa. She has worked on various ICT Policy intervention initiatives focused on internet freedoms and women’s rights               

Jeffrey Bradach said it right that “to scale an organization’s impact without scaling its size is the new frontier in social innovation.” The failures in policy, resource allocation and leadership across Africa are so enormous, that none of us can solve them alone!

Thus, it is through strategic partnerships and multi-expertise collaborations that we can scale impact and reach. In this Module, you will learn skills to build alliances for technical solutions, capacity building, policy advocacy and financial leverage amongst others.

Guest Mentor: Somto Mbelu (Nigeria)

Since the recent global pandemic, we have been leaning more on social media for communication, connection, community and collaboration. This reality has come to stay, and we have a responsibility to make the most of it!

Here, we explore the power of new media for promoting social causes, creating connections, mobilizing volunteers and opening up participatory dialogue about social issues. On the basis that agendas are promoted through media, we must re-think how we engage.

Guest Mentor: John Obidi

John Obidi is an entrepreneur, teacher, consultant & Founder of Headstart Africa. John Obidi is also an expert brand influencer and Social Media Strategist so it is no surprise that his platform, Headstart Africa is a 140,000 member strong community of experts and thought leaders.

Money, Funding, Finances. These are terms often on the lips of NGO leaders, social entrepreneurs and program managers. What do we need? How do we raise it? Quite sadly, we do better at launching programs than fundraising for them.

Compounding this challenge is the shrinking of funders, philanthropists and donor agencies; forcing us to clarify and crystalize an efficient funding model for our projects. In this Module, you’d find insights for crafting a long-term funding strategy, that shifts from absolute reliance on external donations.

Guest Mentor: Dr. Omotola Akinsola 

Dr. Omotola Akinsola is the Chief Executive/Founder of Jumpstart Academy and a Nonprofit Consultant at the Funding Magnet where she provides consultation for nonprofits and SMEs. She is also an assistant professor at the Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Developing a project management system for starting and completing your programs is so key, because you can effectively execute your interventions or initiatives on time and within budget, and with the right team competencies.

This Module caps the African MasterClass Series, handing you the strategies for rallying team members, volunteers and stakeholders to achieve specific targets within a specified timeline.

Guest Mentor: Debola Deji-Kurunmi

Debola Deji – Kurunmi is Public Policy Consultant and Founder/ED, Ideation Hub Africa. Through Ideation Hub Africa, she runs a social profit accelerator, which supports non – profits, innovators, civil society organizations, NGO Leaders, social entrepreneurs, changemakers and public sector agencies, through executive education, collaborative platforms, funding opportunities, advisory and mentorship.

Through IHA’s initiatives, including Development Dialogue, Women in Development Summit, Mentorship Immersion and the African Masterclass Series; Ideation Hub Africa has connected thousands of practitioners to learning experiences, mentorship opportunities, a robust network, access to market as well as funding.