Foreword: Perspective Paper III: Voices of African Leaders

Welcome to Collateral Benefits Perspective Paper III! In this paper, a collaboration between Collateral Benefits and We Will Lead Africa, we created space to think and hear Voices of African Leaders. In the face of the COVID-19 Pandemic era we are living through, we asked:

What leadership narratives do we want more of to take Africa forward, now and for the future?

 In the 31 responses profiled here, we have found again, that the principles and ethos of We Will Lead Africa came through in these pandemic and post-pandemic times. These principles of everyday African and Afro-descendant leadership are:

 We: Collaborative and accountable leaders, taking unified action.

Will: The leadership WILL, grit and courage to do something, anything, now and for the future, demonstrated through action-oriented and aspirational leadership.

Lead: Everyday leaders, motivated by service, in every sector, including emerging leaders from marginalised groups. Leaders with a deep authenticity and integrity in their leadership. They focus on a values-driven path in their industry, even when it is challenging.

Africa: A focus on a prosperous continent, where divides are bridged and leaders work across boundaries and borders to achieve a broader success.

 We see in the perspectives in this paper, that everyday leaders are filling needs and taking opportunities to be actors in making a difference for progress. We also hear an expressed hope that we, everyday African formal and informal leaders, will take up this call at scale, to achieve the collective, pan-African, and positive change impact we need. In addition, a number of sub-themes emerged in calls for progress to advance social and economic equality including: building African leadership capacity contextualized to the continent’s unique needs, mentorship, education, entrepreneurship and technology and African feminism.

 And the voices are clear—Africans must take the charge in building Africa’s future.

As writer Aminatta Forna puts it in the article We must take back our stories and reverse the gaze: “The power of the story lies in the hands of the storyteller, to see oneself only ever reflected through the eyes of another is to view the self through a distorting lens, this is the shared experience of all those whose place in history has been marginalised.”

 Everyday African leaders on and off the continent are taking their place by raising their voices in words and in action.

Read on…

Thank you to our contributors and to my editorial team colleagues Sarah Owusu and Susana Edjang.

Nelson Muffuh Maia Matshikiza kola karim Carl Manlan Korkor Cudjoe Henrica Makulu Mariam Umarji Sarah Owusu Susana Edjang Yabome Gilpin-Jackson, PhD Audrey Mugeni Dorothy Okatch Toks Bakare Memuna Williams, MA, MBA Amanda M. Makosso Adeline Sede Kamga Claudine Hingston Marina Diboma Teddy Warria #RevDrJuliusWeche Daniel Juma Omondi Caroline Njama Dr Shiyghan Emmanuel Navti Iria Marina Diana Owuor Yara Cumbi, MSc, MA Felix Kariuki Mary Okelo Susan Githuku Nereya Otieno Maria del Mar Tabares Bonkanko