A Deep Dive into Akili Dada's Program Review and Refresh

Akili Dada is a leadership incubator dedicated to supporting the leadership development of girls and young women from underserved backgrounds across Africa. Their mission is to address the underrepresentation of women in decision-making roles throughout African society, recognizing that women’s contributions are essential to driving progress in social justice, economic development, and human rights. Through their initiatives, Akili Dada empowers young women to become transformative leaders who foster change within their communities, particularly in the ASAL regions, including Samburu and Kilifi.

Several months ago, Akili Dada Dada engaged Development Dynamics for a two-month assignment to review and refresh three of their key girl-centered programs: Washa, Angaza, and Urithi. After 18 years of impactful service, Akili Dada sought to adapt these programs to ensure they remain relevant and effective in empowering adolescent girls and young women in the ASAL regions. Development Dynamics used design thinking and feminist methodologies to ensure that the program review was comprehensive, collaborative, and aligned with Akili Dada’s core mission.

The culmination of these activities took place in a two-day co-creation workshop, where we worked hand-in-hand with Akili Dada’s team to reimagine the personas, processes, and success criteria of their programs. Together, we defined the pathways that adolescent girls and young women take to participate in Akili Dada’s initiatives and identified what success looks like for both Akili Dada and the girls they serve.

Through this collaborative process, we developed refreshed program logical frameworks that were integrated into Akili Dada’s Theory of Change. Additionally, we updated program manuals, stakeholder maps, and provided thematic insights that included key recommendations for an impactful and sustainable future for Akili Dada’s programs.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Akili Dada Dada for entrusting us with this important review and refresh. We are excited to see the continued success of their efforts to nurture transformative leadership in young women and girls and look forward to seeing how their work continues to shape the future of leadership in Africa.

For more information, please reach out to Phelsia Kojwang Achieng, Product & Service Design Associate | Intersectional Feminist Researcher.