African Food Fellowship partners with African Leadership University to develop food systems leadership in Africa

The African Food Fellowship and the African Leadership University have joined hands to advance African food systems leadership. The two entities have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly invest in building the capacity of young food systems leaders in the continent.

“The African Food Fellowship and the African Leadership University share a vision to build a generation of leaders that can transform food systems to be healthy, financially rewarding, and environmentally sustainable. With the help of AFF and ALU, a new generation of food system leaders will become better equipped, connected, and supported to make the decisions required for systemic change,” states the MOU.

The two institutions have committed to exploring mentorship models for emerging food systems leaders to allow them opportunities to learn from industry experts and to develop coherent, high-quality, and continentally relevant curricula for cultivating food systems leadership. The terms of the agreement also include collaborative advocacy efforts to spread awareness and gain support for food systems leadership in Africa, as well as advanced education opportunities in the form of professional courses for aspiring food systems leaders.

“Africa’s future is linked to its ability to feed itself sustainably. As sustainable agri-food systems have the potential to deliver the food security and dignified employment Africa urgently needs, African Leadership University is training a new generation of entrepreneurial leaders to revolutionize this sector. Our commitment to this partnership with the African Food Fellowship reflects our unwavering belief in the potential of African youth to transform food systems and create a more equitable world,” said Brian Neza, the Mission Curator for Agriculture at ALU. Brian is also an African Food Fellow.

The partnership comes at an opportune time when attention is shifting to systemic change rather than one-off solutions to complex challenges. Transformative change requires diverse leadership typically over decades pushing against prevailing forces that wish to keep food systems as they are. Helping cadres of leaders to understand the nature and complexity food systems, network and grow their ideas into practical impact is an important catalyst for systemic change.

“The African Food Fellowship is excited to be partnering with the African Leadership University to set key educational foundations as we build a new collaboration to reach thousands of food systems leaders targeting the doers across Africa’s food systems. I am equally excited that our partnership also seeks to cultivate a coherent ecosystem of organisations to nurture food systems leaders across Africa,” said the African Food Fellowship Deputy Director Alex Rees. He also invited like-minded institutions to join the effort.

About the African Food Fellowship

The African Food Fellowship is a network of leaders in Africa working on radical change to transform food systems across the continent. We support food systems actors with world-class training, platforms, and networks to spark collaborative action for healthy, inclusive, and sustainable food systems. The Fellowship is initiated by Wageningen University and Research and Wasafiri Consulting with funding support from the IKEA Foundation and Small Foundation.

About the African Leadership University (ALU)

ALU, located in Kigali, Rwanda, provides higher education for a higher purpose. Its students develop real-world skills to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. They take ownership of their learning from day one through a peer- and student-led approach – because ALU believes in the power and agency of young people to start shaping the future right now. With a world-class faculty and staff, its students are igniting a ripple of positive impact across Africa and the world. www.alueducation.com/