“None of this would have been possible without that first believer, this first country which is the nation of Mauritius.” Taking the stage at the 2024 graduation ceremony of the African Leadership College (ALC), its founder Fred Swaniker was keen to highlight Mauritius’s key contribution in establishing one of the ground-breaking tertiary education institutions in Africa. The ALC 2024 graduation ceremony also had the privilege of welcoming the Vice-Prime Minister of Mauritius and Minister of Education, Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, as well as Julie Gichuru, Chief Public Affairs and Communications Officer at the Mastercard Foundation, as guests of honour for this occasion.
151 undergraduate and graduate students from programs in Social Sciences, Business Management, Engineering, Entrepreneurial Leadership and Computing were officially conferred accredited degrees in collaboration with the Glasgow Caledonian University. As students, parents, alumni, and faculty members all came together to celebrate this special occasion, the event was yet another unmissable opportunity for graduates to learn from several inspirational leaders.
Reflecting on the very beginning of the African Leadership project, Fred Swaniker took a moment to thank the government of Mauritius for its trust, as well as the Vice-Prime Minister of Mauritius and Minister of Education, “the Honourable Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun who was one of the key people who took a leap of faith on us when we established the first African Leadership College here. This then led to a much bigger movement across the continent, with the next sister campus in Rwanda. Today, with the addition of our ALX program, we have around 250 000 students spread across 32 campuses.”
When ALC was launched nearly a decade ago, its ground-breaking model of higher education set the objectives to train and develop young talented Africans in becoming ethical entrepreneurial leaders of tomorrow who make an impact today, thanks to an emphasis on innovation. During his speech at the ALC 2024 graduation ceremony, Veda Sunassee, Mauritian Chief Executive Officer of ALC, revealed that “we are proud of our students for their remarkable achievements, namely some of whom came to Mauritius during the pandemic. Their journey was not easy, and these challenges gave them more strength. Many of the students have already entered the workplace in Mauritius and abroad, while others have great entrepreneurial ambitions. The biggest compliment that can be paid to our education model is the fact that they are really passionate about the African continent and the change they want to bring to the world.”
Julie Gichuru, an inspirational African woman
The other guest of honour was none other than passionate afro-optimist, Julie Gichuru. As the Chief Public Affairs and Communications Officer at the Mastercard Foundation; she oversees corporate, programmatic, policy and thought leadership communications with the help of her team across Africa and Canada. In 2008, Julie became the first woman to be awarded the Martin Luther King Salute to Greatness following her repeated appeals for non-violent action after the 2007 elections in Kenya. In 2019, she was named one of the 100 Most Influential African Women by Avance Media as well as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by New African.
As a key opinion leader in driving conversations and curating impactful engagements around African leadership, growth, and development, Julie Gichuru was honoured to be the one of the keynote speakers at the ALC 2024 graduation ceremony: “Today, we witnessed the evolution of the African dream and vision, which remains one of our biggest hopes for the future. In a dynamic environment, ALC is setting an example with the help of the Mauritian Government, a story that absolutely deserves to be shared with the rest of Africa and the world.”
To date, more than a quarter of alumni from African Leadership College and its sister campus African Leadership University in Rwanda, have started 140 unique ventures, created more than 44,000 jobs, and raised almost US$6 million.
About African Leadership College Mauritius
African Leadership College (ALC) is located at Beau-Plan, Pamplemousses opened in 2015 and is a higher education learning institution partnering with Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland to confer and issue its accredited degrees to students. ALC uses a personalised, student-driven, project-based, and mission-oriented approach to create agile, lifelong learners who can adapt to a changing world. ALC’s sister institution, African Leadership University (ALU), is located in Kigali, Rwanda.
Learn more about ALC Mauritius: https://alc.alueducation.com/
About African Leadership Group
The African Leadership Group (ALG) is an ecosystem of legally independent entities with a shared vision for transforming Africa by developing 3 million ethical, entrepreneurial leaders. Through entities such as the African Leadership Academy in South Africa, the African Leadership University in Rwanda, the African Leadership College in Mauritius, ALX and The Room, ALG is developing and connecting future African leaders to opportunities in Africa.
Learn more about ALG: https://algroup.org/
