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As the world’s second-largest continent, Africa is home to 54 countries, over 2,000 languages, and a growing population of over 1.4 billion people. With its rich cultural heritage, vast natural resources and resilient people, Africa is poised for greatness. Home to a demographic goldmine, with over 70 percent of its population under the age of 30, Africa possesses enormous opportunity for economic growth and sustainable development.

However, despite Africa’s remarkable economic potential, it remains largely underdeveloped. About 10 - 12 million youths enter the job market in Africa, but only about 3 million new jobs are created on the continent annually, leaving many youths unemployed.

It is essential to recognize that despite Africa’s vast resources and potential, she still grapples with a complex web of interrelated challenges hindering her progress. These issues manifest across socioeconomic, governance, institutional, environmental, and health domains, begging for urgent attention.

Nonprofits, social enterprises, the private sector, and the government play a critical role in addressing this challenge, hence the need for collaborative leadership. “No single entity, be it government, private sector, or even a well-funded nonprofit, can tackle these issues alone. It is in the collective power of partnerships, collaboration, and platforms that will unlock the true potential for building a sustainable world.” These words by Osayi Alile, CEO, Aspire Coronation Trust Foundation, aptly describes the pathway to arriving at sustainable solutions that cater to Africa’s growing problems.

Collaborative leadership emphasizes partnerships, inclusivity, and collective action. By fostering collaboration, leaders across sectors can leverage their respective strengths and resources to tackle complex issues more effectively. As with unemployment, the government holds very little capacity to cater to job creation need of Africa’s teeming youthful population and must be willing to explore a collaboration with the private and the social sector to tackle the issue of unemployment in Africa. In Nigeria alone, social enterprises and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) account for about 96% of businesses and 84% of employment, thus contributing about 48% to the nation’s GDP. This data corroborates the need for collaborative efforts across all three sectors to effectively address the issue of unemployment on the continent.

Over the last seven years, Aspire Coronation Trust Foundation has played a pivotal role in advancing the discuss around collaboration through its annual Breakfast Dialogue, where diverse multi-sectoral leaders across Africa come together to drive transformative change and co-create solutions for the continent’s most pressing challenges.

These challenges present a compelling case for collaborative leadership, and in the last seven years, ACT Foundation has collaborated with over 100 nonprofits, social enterprises, private entities as well as the public sector to deliver projects that address some of these challenges in the areas of Health, Environment, Entrepreneurship and Leadership, impacting over 3 million lives across 12 African countries.

Collaborative leadership is undeniably the path to Africa's sustainable development. By harnessing the collective wisdom, resources, and strength of diverse stakeholders, the continent can overcome its challenges and unlock its immense potential.

To this end, we invite you to join us on the 10th of October 2024 for ACT Foundation’s 8th Breakfast Dialogue themed, ‘Collaborative Leadership; Bridging Sectors for Sustainable Development in Africa’. This cutting-edge event will bring together multi-sectoral leaders in Africa to explore the pivotal role collaborative leadership plays in addressing Africa’s diverse challenges. Register to attend on www.actrustfoundation.org.