YALF

Background

In 2015, while I was a student at the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, I had an idea to start the Young African Leaders' Foundation (YALF). My intuition was simple. I felt that there were other young leaders, perhaps as equally gifted as the students at ALA, who for whatever reason weren't there. So, I wanted to build a bridge to help ALA students connect with others, and help them connect with us and among themselves. The idea was to have a super network of highly motivated young Africans, connecting in cities to discuss serious issues and work together to solve local problems.

At the risk of forgetting some names, I was able to convince school mates like Samantha Atta-Mensah and Arnold Sanginga to join in starting and building this entity. Our was diverse with people from Ghana, Nigeria, DR Congo and South Africa. The mission was simple: connect young Africans with one another and with the resources they need to create change.

We began with Salon Nights at ALA. Salon nights were inspired by what I'd read about French culture of having Salon's during the enlightenment period. I had no idea I would later live in and work in France.

## Here's what we built: - The Necta format: We renamed Salon Nights to Nectas, so young people could conNECT and TAlk. Each one paired a sharp topic with a guest voice, breakout sessions and a personal call to action, so ideas came with accountability - Johannesburg, 2015. Our first Nectas at ALA took on business in African slums, then racial and ethnic diversity with the Johannesburg Junior Council, months after the xenophobic attacks that occurred during that period - Lagos, July 2015. Our first Nigerian Necta, in Lekki, on sexism and its effects on Nigerian society. I co-hosted it, with stylist Denola Grey as guest speaker. Denola's brother Ademide was my classmate at ALA - Accra, 9 July 2016. At Ghana International School we asked what role art plays in depicting Africa's realities. Painters, musicians, writers and self-declared non-creatives heard from filmmaker Shirley Frimpong-Manso. Shout out to Samantha Atta-Mensah for leveraging her network to open doors - Manchester. Our first Necta outside Africa, on how the African brain drain ripples through our generation

Recognition

• Nectas in four cities in four countries and two continents, and a community of 1,100 followers online.
• Every seat at the Accra Necta was booked, and we went live on Citi FM 97.3 to talk about it.

What I learnt

• Start small but follow up quickly. Start where you are and gain as much momentum as you possibly can Dreams travel as far as the team can push it. I was simply a vector for the idea, and made the initial push. After others bought into the idea, the sky was honestly the limit and my task as leader was to remain as the glue that would allow the individual members of the team contribute to achieve a common goal People gather around ideas they like
• Talk is cheap without a follow up. We asked every participant for a call to action and gathered feedback after each Necta. The conversations that mattered most were the ones people took home

What I regret

YALF fizzled away when I started university. I wish I kept at it and built it into a strong community with member committed to taking action in their local communities.