Seventy-four public-sector professionals from across Africa have been selected for the sixth cohort of the Aig-Imoukhuede Public Leaders Programme, an executive leadership initiative delivered by the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation in partnership with the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.

The participants are drawn from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, Malawi and Zambia, with Botswana and Eswatini joining the programme for the first time.

Their participation brings to 12 the number of African countries represented in the programme since its inception.

The six-month programme combines virtual coursework with an intensive residential week delivered by faculty members of the Blavatnik School of Government.

Participants will also develop reform projects to be implemented in their respective ministries, departments and agencies.

Executive Vice-Chair of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, said the programme had created a network of public servants working to address similar governance challenges across the continent.

She said: “Public servants from twelve countries across Africa now have access to the same world-class faculty, the same learning experience and a network of peers facing many of the same reform challenges.

“That matters because reform can be lonely work when it feels as though you are the only one in your organisation pushing for change. The Aig-Imoukhuede Public Leaders Programme reminds public servants that they are not working in isolation but as part of a wider community of reformers across the continent.”

The foundation said more than 300 reform projects had been led by its alumni across Africa.

It added that a recent impact survey showed that 62 per cent of alumni surveyed had assumed expanded leadership responsibilities after completing the programme.

Among reforms attributed to alumni is Nigeria’s first sexual harassment policy for the National Youth Service Corps, developed by a programme alumnus and approved in 2024.

The policy established reporting and disciplinary procedures for about 400,000 corps members deployed annually.

In Lagos State, another alumni-led initiative aimed at improving primary healthcare access in a hard-to-reach riverine community increased outreach sessions from four to 12 monthly.

The foundation said the new cohort would apply the knowledge gained from the programme to reform initiatives within their respective public institutions.