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Grooming For Greatness… Empowering young business leaders from Africa

By Anote Ajeluorou
05 October 2015   |   11:22 pm
The notion that the problem of leadership is the bane of development in African has since taken deep root since the continent’s foremost cultural exponent Prof. Chinua Achebe first gave expression to it in his classic volume The Trouble with Nigeria. Although his diagnosis has been contradicted in some quarters where the architecture of power…
Alabi

Alabi

The notion that the problem of leadership is the bane of development in African has since taken deep root since the continent’s foremost cultural exponent Prof. Chinua Achebe first gave expression to it in his classic volume The Trouble with Nigeria.

Although his diagnosis has been contradicted in some quarters where the architecture of power relationships has been pointed out as the real problem, efforts to groom the continent’s young ones to be effective leaders continue to take centre stage. This has become even more urgent with the continent’s educational infrastructure performing below average, with countries like Nigeria devoting less that 10 per cent of its annual budgets to education as against the recommended 26 per cent by UNESCO.

The low budgetary provision is worsened by the emphasis on paper qualification at the expense of hands-on, practical approach to education, with every graduate looking to secure the ever-elusive white-collar jobs rather than being self-reliant and independent. Largely, the entrepreneurial spirit has been lacking in Nigeria’s education structure. The result has been massive unemployment of young people who are poorly trained and who compete for limited job spaces.

But this is the gap some Nigerians, including Mrs. Biola Alabi, founder of Biola Alabi Media and former Managing Director of Mnet Africa, are trying to bridge. Her new leadership development project ‘Grooming For Greatness’ fellowship programme will kick off with a conference from October 23 through 24 for the 2015-2016 season. It is part of her project, The Grooming For Greatness and Purpose Foundation. According to its founding vision, “Everyone, irrespective of social or economic standing, deserves the opportunity to realise his or her full potential,” with the foundation mission being “to identify exceptional leadership talent whose core motivation and desire to give back to the community make them ideal candidates for a Fellowship who receive training and development such that they harness, develop and achieve their greatest potential as African leaders”.

In an era where young Nigerians desperately need role models to guide them in the right direction and away from all manner of vices plaguing the country, Alabi’s Grooming For Greatness couldn’t have come at a better time. It also has the aim “to cultivate leadership in young, aspiring professionals and entrepreneurs and develop an African platform for individuals who recognize the challenges and opportunities inherent in embracing personal greatness on this continent”.

For Alabi, the former Managing Director of M-Net Africa, Grooming For Greatness “is passionate about the next generation of African leadership and is committed to its development and success. By joining this initiative, Fellows gain confidence, build relationships and expand their professional networks. It’s anticipated that these rising corporate and commercial stars will rise to their potential and consequently significantly benefit the African people”.

At the heart of the programme is acquiring the right information and gaining insight to basic concepts, mentorship and access to African leaders “who epitomize outstanding success, Fellows can create a compelling vision for themselves and begin to expand that vision forward. Individuals accepted into the Grooming For Greatness programme receive an unparalleled year of training, mentorship and personal and professional development that aids them in assuming leadership roles across Africa”.

The year-long programme that starts with a 3-day onboarding event will bring leaders from across sectors to share their experiences and expertise, and groom the next generation of African business leaders. The 3-day workshop and seminar will also identify exceptional talents who will be mentored by Alabi and her associates over the next year. The workshop will deal with practical sessions to build the capacity of participants with access to relevant and outstanding role models and leadership tools, including recommended literature, through which they can widen their knowledge base whilst simultaneously drawing inspiration and ideas.

“We have spent the past year working on this crucial intervention. It’s important to give a new generation of African leaders the practical, applicable skills that can truly transform the continent,” Alabi, who is also a Yale fellow, said. “We want to cultivate an intuitive African programme for young and aspiring professionals and entrepreneurs that recognise the challenges and opportunities inherent in embracing personal greatness in this continent.”

A group of no more than 20 hand-picked participants will be guided through the curated programme of workshops, discussions and seminars to help harness their potential and discover the greatness in them.
Grooming for Greatness is a programme that embraces the philosophy that realising individual greatness is an attainable goal if provided with adequate resources. At the heart of the Grooming for Greatness programme lies the principle that with the right information and insight, a facilitator and access to leaders who have already forged a path to outstanding success. Motivation for founding Grooming For Greatness, according to Alabi, “is focused on ensuring that powerful youth voices become more entrenched and embraced across the growing African business landscape”.

The programme objectives of Grooming For Greateness include providing access to relevant and outstanding role models, leadership tools and recommended literature through which Fellows can widen their knowledge base while drawing inspiration and ideas, assist Fellows in mapping their own life-spcific goals and ambitions, create a vehicle through which industry heavyweights can share experiences and expertise with fellows, thereby helping them fulfill their responsibility to groom the next generation of great African business leaders and meet the demand across Africa for greater, meaningful interaction between leaders of industry and those who wish to follow in their footsteps.

As application has been thrown open at www.groomingforgreatness.com, it is hoped that interested candidates, who crave entrepreneurial training will apply and get the grooming they require to meet the 21st business challenges and once again put Africa on the world map of greatness. Also, for individuals and corporations looking to assist young people, surely Alabi’s Grooming For Greatness is where to make good this desire. Prominent foundations like Dangote, Jim Ovia, Elumelu, TY Danjuma, Ford Foundation will find sponsorship of this programme targeted at grooming young people into successful business leaders and other similar programmes across board of immense value. Building communities effectively starts with building its young people who will lead the future. Grooming For Greatness provides such building block and deserves all the support there is to get.

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