Given the recognition that there is a crisis of leadership in Africa, The Africa Leadership Initiative West Africa was launched in 2006 as a joint venture of the Aspen Institute, LEAP Africa (Nigeria), Databank Foundation (Ghana), and TechnoServe. This initiative was birth out of the Africa Leadership Initiative (ALI), which was launched in 2002 to capture the energy, the talent and the resolve of an emerging generation of leaders in Africa -- leaders who have already realized a certain level of success -- and to inspire them to move from success to…significance by engaging in the foremost challenges of their countries and their times.

The Africa Leadership Initiative is an offshoot of the Aspen Institute’s renowned Henry Crown Fellowship Program. The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. Using the time-tested Aspen method of text-based dialogue, the program aims to provide the tools and perspectives necessary for effective, enlightened leadership in business, government and the nonprofit sector and in African society at large. ALI West Africa Fellows are men and women between the ages of 30 and 45, successful in their fields of endeavor (75% from the business sector, the balance from government and civil society organizations) and committed to promoting – and personally exemplifying -- effective, values-based leadership in their countries.

The Fellows attend four five to six day seminars over a period of 18 months. They also commit to carrying out a high-impact Leadership Project of their own choosing – vetted and approved by their peers.

The seminars are held in Ghana, Nigeria, the Aspen Institute and are led by skilled moderators from the Aspen Institute. They consist of the following: