Welcome to the Anzisha Effect – the newest knowledge hub for entrepreneurship educators and supporters in Africa!

The work of moving African development forward is tough. Hard things are always hard. As a community of entrepreneurship educators and supporters, we are however more inspired and moved by the potential our continent holds more than the hardships that lie ahead of us. It requires us to be innovative in the face of scarcity, to maneuver around rigid systems that prevent us from developing the habits of entrepreneurship in young people and find in each other, rich resources and support that inspires us to once more dedicate ourselves fully to a task we may never delegate to anyone else. It is proudly our task to accomplish and our mission to advance.

The people involved in doing the hard work of developing the entrepreneurial prowess of the continent need a community of peers who are thought leaders in this pioneering field- sharing best practices, discussing and working out solutions to topical issues and remove barriers that stunt the growth of the entrepreneurial development engine.  We need a convening spaces, both virtual and in person where we can achieve incremental impact through values-led collaboration. This inspired the birth of Anzisha Perspectives and the Anzisha Effect portal.

It is our hope that we explore this world together, sharing insights, tools, methods and interventions that not only increase the likelihood of more young entrepreneurs, but also empathy from those who will lead sectors that regulate, work with and provide opportunities for future entrepreneurs.

African Leadership Academy is a 10 year old institution founded with the audacious mission of developing 6000 ethical and dedicated leaders for the African continent over 50 years. This is primarily done through selecting, developing and connecting exceptional emerging leaders from all over the continent through a two year pre-university program that accelerates their path towards becoming the leaders who will change the trajectory of our continent.

These future entrepreneurs, civil society, business and government leaders develop core skills in entrepreneurial leadership, communicating for impact and problem solving skills in a rich, experiential pan-African setting along with their academic studies.

Over some time, the Academy began conceptualizing and building programs to impact more youth outside the two year program, one of which is the Anzisha Prize. The Prize selects the best young entrepreneurs between the ages of 15-22 from across the continent and provides them with the support they need to grow and scale their businesses, hence generating gainful employment for more young people.

Now in its 7th year, the Prize has evolved into three distinct pillars of activity. The first celebrates innovative young entrepreneurs who win a share of $100 000 as recognition of their contribution to their societies and the inspirational stories that will move even more young people into choosing entrepreneurship as a career path. The second accelerates the same young entrepreneurs by providing ongoing support in a life-long fellowship to help scale their businesses and achieve lasting impact in their communities. The third pillar, which is where you come in, is where we create collaboration opportunities for entrepreneurship practitioners across the continent- your contributions and ideas are encouraged as we explore this new direction.

With over 50% of people living across the globe are under the age of 25, we have officially entered the youngest century the world has ever seen. A lot of excitement has been generated over this fact- the associated innovation, progress and youthful energy is impossible to ignore. Yet, in Africa, where there are over 200 million youth, progress remains slow, unemployment at its peak and institutions weak. The social ills associated with inequality and limited economic opportunity will only increase exponentially when the same youth population doubles to 400 million in only 32 years. We need to move fast in addressing the inhibitors of development as well as harnessing the innovative and economic potential of the continent.

Yours in catalyzing impact,

Sihle Magubane

Editor, The Anzisha Effect