AGRA Announces Open of CALA’s Advanced Leadership Programme Fourth Cohort Applications
15th May 2024 by AGRA
Nairobi, Kenya, 15th May 2024 – AGRA has announced the opening of applications for the fourth cohort of the Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA)’s Advanced Leadership Programme, designed for emerging and established leaders from across Africa’s agriculture sector in government, the private sector, and civil society.
The Advanced Leadership programme is tailored to support leaders in delivering on top national priorities in African agriculture and nutrition security. Applications will be received from May 13th to July 2nd, 2024, with 80 top applicants from eight focus countries – Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda – joining the highly competitive and selective programme.
Announcing the call for applications, AGRA’s Head of State Capability, Yifru Bekele, said that AGRA launched the Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA) to provide hands-on implementation support for African leaders in the agriculture sector to unlock opportunities and shape the changing landscape of agriculture in the continent.
Mr Bekele, added, “In a continent haunted by multiple challenges that have been affecting its population to liberate itself out of mire poverty while amassed with plenty of opportunities, the importance of leadership cannot be overemphasized. The agricultural sector has not been an exception, it has been cruising on a bumpy road, experiencing both the challenges and opportunities across countries.”
An AGRA-led initiative, the fourth cohort will be delivered in collaboration with implementing partners, the African Management Institute (AMI), CALA’s lead implementation and learning partner, and the African Network of Professional Facilitators (ANProF) . Cohort delegates will participate in the collaborative, hands-on, and tailored programme for 16-months.
“It’s been great to watch CALA’s continued mission to support agriculture leaders to drive food systems transformation through improving their leadership capacity. From the delegates’ learning journey to our robust alumni network, solutions to the continent’s challenges are in good hands”- Rebecca Harrison, CEO and Co-founder of the African Management Institute, spoke on the Advanced Leadership Programme’s impact.
The fourth cohort follows the successful implementation of the first, second and third cohorts, composed of 200 leaders from eight focus countries, who began their journey in August 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively. Selected from over 4,000 applications, the first and second cohorts graduated from the programme, joining the Centre’s exclusive alumni network, while the third cohort is now halfway into their 16-month leadership learning journey. The cohorts have been progressively inclusive, with women leaders accounting for an average of 50% across each cohort.
The programme cohort delegates will experience offerings such as executive and team coaching, virtual learning lessons, and leadership forums with experts from across the continent and globe. Participants will also access CALA’s exclusive online leadership courses and ‘game-changers’ case studies from experts advancing agricultural transformation in Africa and the global south. With a specialized focus on nurturing the next generation of youth leaders, the call out for the fourth cohort reflects CALA’s continued mission to support the continent’s leaders through improved leadership and collaboration.
By the end of the programme, within CALA’s unique Action Learning Project format, participants will have delivered on a collaborative keystone project, working with peers from their country cohort to deliver on a key sector transformation project. The projects will be linked to the participants’ job and country agriculture transformation objectives, emphasizing youth empowerment and employment creation.
For more information or to apply visit: https://cala.agra.org/programme/cala-advanced-leadership-programme/
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About CALA
The Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA), an AGRA-led initiative, supports sector leaders to deliver on top national priorities in African agriculture and nutrition security. These leaders represent a wide range of key actors from across government, private sector and civil society. CALA was conceptualized by AGRA and is implemented in collaboration with the African Management Institute (AMI) and USAID’s Policy LINK, with funding from the German Development Cooperation through the KfW Development Bank.
For more information https://cala.agra.org
About AGRA
Established in 2006, AGRA is an African-led and Africa-based institution that puts smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives. Together with our partners, we are working to sustainably grow Africa’s food systems.
AGRA strengthens seed systems, develops, and promotes sustainable farming practices, helps unlock trade and markets, and supports governments who lead their countries’ development. We work with farmers to adapt to climate change, increase soil health, and protect the environment. AGRA believes deeply in the urgency of reducing the inequality that women face in agriculture and unlocking the power and innovation of youth.
About the African Management Institute (AMI)
AMI enables ambitious businesses and leaders across Africa to thrive through practical tools and training. We equip leaders with tools to build their businesses, help companies train their teams, and run work readiness programmes for young people starting their careers. AMI’s programmes combine online and mobile tools with in-person workshops and on-the-job practice and support. AMI has directly trained over 35,000 people in over 39 countries. AMI has offices in Nairobi, Kenya, Kigali, Rwanda; and Johannesburg, South Africa.
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The Centre’s Advanced Leadership programme, a 16-month highly selective and collaborative learning journey, is designed for senior leaders and rising stars spearheading country level priorities across government, private sector, and civil society. Each cohort comprises of leaders from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
The Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA) is made possible with the friendly support of:
