Transformational Leadership Program (TLP)
In January 2006, AAI launched the Transformational Leadership Program (TLP) with support from The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation (TCCAF). TLP aims to build professional managerial capacity in Africa 's civil society and business sectors. This multi-year program offers non-degree professional development and business degree training programs to African managers of Africa-based NGOs working in the fields of health, education, environment and entrepreneurship, and African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
During the pilot phase, candidates selected for the TLP attend training programs at one of three partner institutions: Emory University's Goizueta Business School in Atlanta , Georgia , The Aresty Institute of Executive Education at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and the United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya.
Through TLP, AAI and its funding partner, TCCAF, aim not only to provide training and credentials to individual participants, but also to confer far-reaching benefits to the organizations and communities in which these professionals serve. The pilot program, which was open to applicants from NGOs supported by TCCAF throughout Africa , began with its first cohort of participants in May 2007.
The ultimate objectives of TLP are to:
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Provide a wider cross-section of African private and independent sector executives with the requisite knowledge, training, management and leadership skills as well as access to networks for professional development and success;
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Help increase the profile and augment the offerings of African business schools and other management training programs;
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Prepare and orient a pool of successful African leaders and managers who can be recruited by private sector companies, the independent non-profit sector and by the public sector in Africa; and
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Help overcome the lack of capacity that is at the heart of poor service delivery, weak productive capacity, and slow economic growth in many African countries.
Program Partners and Course Components
The program will provide tailored programs for applicants at Africa- or U.S.- based partner institutions. Programs components and locations include:
- The Aresty Institute of Executive Education at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, USA), offering four-week professional development courses year-round in management, leadership, marketing and finance.
- Emory University's Goizueta Business School (Atlanta, USA), offering a one-year master's in business administration (MBA) degree program designed for managers interested in accelerating their careers in a format designed to maximize knowledge and leadership skills.
- United States International University (Nairobi, Kenya), offering a one-year master's of science in management and organizational development (MOD) designed to provide advanced skills in selected business and management disciplines, including practical experience in the application of those skills in the context of the overall dynamics of organizations.
Since May 2007, TLP has provided scholarships for 35 individuals from Egypt, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe (as of December 2007).
Currently, TLP provides scholarships for 26 individuals studying in Kenya and the United States (as of December 2007).