An independent committee made up of public decision-makers and business leaders has been set up to select the 100 new Young Leaders 2021 of the French-African Foundation.
These figures from the Franco-African relationship have until May 10,2021 to help identify the 100 laureates who will make up the 2021 class, a statement to APA said.
The role of the committee is to determine the composition of the next Young Leaders.
It brings together decision-makers, notably from France, French-speaking Africa and the English-speaking world.
As the call for applications ended on April 5, the process for selecting the winners of the 2021 edition of the French-African Foundation’s Young Leaders program is now underway with an ad hoc committee made up of these personalities.
Members of the committee hold ministerial positions (Romuald Wadagni, Minister of Economy and Finance of Benin; Ursula Owuzu, Ghanaian Minister of Telecommunications).
Others work in development institutions, such as Chinelo Anohu, senior director of the Africa Investment Forum; Beatrice Lederle, Deputy Director of the Africa Department of AFD), as well as recruitment and training organizations (Didier Acouetey, CEO AfricSearch).
Also of note are Heads of companies (Hassanein Hiridjee, CEO of the Malagasy group Axian; Mohammed Dewji, CEO of METL) and major players in the pan-African media universe (Marwane Ben Yahmed, the Director of the Group Jeune Afrique).
Laureates of previous promotions of the French-African Foundation’s flagship program are also present (Aminata Kane, CEO of Orange Sierra Leone; Khady Kone-Dicoh, Partner at Amethis) in the selection committee.
Alexandre Coster, the co-founder and co-president of the French-African Foundation said he is pleased that the 2021 edition of the program is marked by “the rise of the body, the diversity and the quality of the composition of the selection committee, whose staff has been tripled, confirming the institutional recognition of the Young Leaders program.”
“This also marks our desire to bring together the generations of decision-makers of today and tomorrow to support the emergence of this creative, ambitious new generation, ready and committed to co-constructing the world of tomorrow,” he added.
In order to select the most promising candidates, the jurors will conduct remote interviews in association with members of the French-African Foundation.
On May 10, this expanded committee will meet for a final vote to form the final group.
This will be done in strict compliance with parity, and with attention paid to representation by sector, by region of Africa and by country, says the statement, which also indicates that the composition of the 2021 class will be unveiled in May.
This process paves the way for the two sessions of the Young Leaders program on the theme of resilience, in France and Senegal, which will allow the laureates to benefit from unique opportunities for mentoring, training and networking with leaders from the public and private sectors.
Set up in February 2019, the French-African Foundation has assigned itself the mission of identifying and promoting the most promising talents on the Franco-African economic, political, academic, social and cultural scene; and to support the potential of leadership and management of this new generation through its flagship Young Leaders program.
The Foundation offers its laureates the opportunity to participate in two seminars, in France and in Africa, to develop their leadership potentials, discuss with senior executives from the public and private sectors, and jointly propose a reflection on key themes.
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