Ghanaian Fred Swaniker founded a school and a leadership network to educate and support the next generation of Africa’s leaders.

Why you should listen

2009 TED Fellow Fred Swaniker believes that what's been holding Africa back has been the lack of good leadership. He founded the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg to attract the best and brightest students from across the continent and give them a foundation in ethical, entrepreneurial leadership. Next, he formed the African Leadership Network to catalyze prosperity by strengthening the relationships between graduates as they step into positions of leadership and vision.

What others say

“Fred helped to start a biotech company, and now uses his expertise to help other young Africans develop their leadership skills so that they can come back and put those skills to use serving their communities, starting businesses, creating jobs. So thank you, Fred, for the great work that you’re doing.” — President Barack Obama, 2013

Fred Swaniker’s TED talk

More news and ideas from Fred Swaniker

Live from TEDGlobal

Human rights heroes: A recap of session 11 of TEDGlobal 2014

October 10, 2014

From a speaker helping to contain the ebola outbreak to an America lawyer standing up for rights in Afghanistan to a journalist cracking open the Nigerian media, Session 11: Fighters was filled with crackling talks. A recap: Fred Swaniker kicks off the day with a bold vision for Africa’s future, which, he argues, rests squarely in […]

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