LéO Africa Institute and Stanbic to Announce Partnership on Young and Emerging Leaders Project

The YELP fellowship targets emerging leaders from across East Africa

LéO Africa Institute will be embarking on a three-year partnership with Stanbic Bank-Uganda to support the Young and Emerging Leaders Project. The launch will take place at a reception dinner for the Class of 2018 to be held at the Kampala Sheraton Hotel later today evening.

The Young and Emerging Leaders Project (YELP) is an initiative of the LéO Africa Institute that annually inducts outstanding thought leaders into a fellowship program designed to train and orient values of self-advancement, integrity, social responsibility, and socioeconomic transformation.

Fellows of the YELP come from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi, and have backgrounds in media, social enterprise, the Arts, innovation, and activism.

The fellowship imparts critical skills needed in leadership that transforms the individual and society around them. This is achieved through critical reflection sessions, conversations with leaders from various sectors, peer-to-peer sharing and readings about different leaders in Africa and the rest of the world.

Speaking ahead of the launch of the partnership launch today, Awel Uwihanganye the Institute’s founder said, “At the heart of what we want participants to achieve from this Fellowship is to connect their ideas and visions to individual action and to embrace the concept of servant leadership: the idea of submitting one’s self to the betterment of lives of others and a better society.

Awel said that with support from Stanbic and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), the initiative will this year expand to include fellows from Tanzania and Burundi. “We hope in future to make this a truly pan-African initiative that shapes mindsets of a new breed of African thought leaders in diverse fields like media, public service, social enterprise, and the arts.”

On her part the head of CSI at Stanbic bank, Barbara Kasekende said that Stanbic Bank has always been a firm supporter of programmes like YELP that empower young and emerging leaders who are driving change projects in their communities.

Patrick Mweheire, the Stanbic Bank CEO while speaking at the launch said, “Young people being equipped with things that are not taught in class, like leadership, is a valuable cause, and initiatives like YELP that encourage that are important. With a huge percentage of the population being under 30, it is our responsibility to support these initiatives and empower the youth of today.”

Mweheire also emphasized the importance of young people having mentors to engage with, on ideas, network and provide guidance on maneuvering the difficulties they will encounter in their careers.

The fellowship shall also have a year-long mentorship program for Fellows supported by Stanbic Bank board.

 

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Charlene Kamali
Author: Charlene Kamali
Communications and Partnerships Coordinator, LeO Africa Institute.

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