By media360impact
The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation has selected 74 public-sector professionals from across Africa for the sixth cohort of its Aig-Imoukhuede Public Leaders Programme, an executive leadership initiative delivered in partnership with the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.
The programme is designed to equip public servants with leadership skills, new perspectives and professional networks to help them drive reforms and improve public-sector performance.
The latest cohort brings together public servants from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, Malawi and Zambia, while Botswana and Eswatini are joining the programme for the first time.
With the addition of the two countries, the programme has now reached participants from 12 African countries since its inception.
What started five years ago as an initiative focused on strengthening public-sector leadership has grown into a continental network of more than 300 reform-minded public servants.
According to the Foundation, the diversity of participating countries allows public-sector professionals to exchange experiences and learn from different governance systems and reform challenges across Africa.
Speaking on the new cohort, Executive Vice-Chair of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, said the programme is helping public servants realise that they are part of a wider community working to improve governance across the continent.
She said the shared learning experience and network of public-sector leaders could help participants overcome the isolation that often comes with pushing for reforms within government institutions.
The sixth cohort will undergo a six-month programme featuring virtual coursework, an intensive residential week led by faculty from the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, and the development of reform projects.
Participants are expected to design projects addressing real challenges within their ministries, departments and agencies and apply what they learn to improve public-sector delivery.
The Foundation said alumni of the programme have so far led more than 300 reform projects across Africa.
An impact survey also found that 62 per cent of surveyed alumni had taken on expanded leadership responsibilities after completing the programme.
Some alumni-led reforms have already produced measurable results.
In Nigeria, one alumnus contributed to the development of the country’s first sexual harassment policy for the National Youth Service Corps, which was approved in 2024. The policy introduced formal reporting and disciplinary procedures for about 400,000 corps members deployed annually.
In Lagos State, another alumni-led initiative focused on improving access to primary healthcare in a hard-to-reach riverine community.
The initiative increased healthcare outreach sessions from four to 12 per month, while more than 540 outpatient visits were recorded alongside an increase in childhood immunisation.
The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation said it would continue supporting members of the new cohort as they strengthen their leadership capabilities and apply their knowledge to public institutions and the communities they serve.
Source: Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation
