Directorate for Ethics Leadership & Governance
Leaders transform the world. We transform leaders’ mindsets!
Vision: To empower African youth with civic-tech solutions to lead ethical, transparent, and inclusive governance, building accountable institutions for a just and prosperous Africa.
Fostering an ethical mindset for the
transformation of Africa's leadership & governance.
The root cause of Africa’s Leadership problem is the lack of ethics. Our vision is to inspire the next generation of African Youth leaders with a sense of patriotism that demonstrates appropriate and thoughtful conduct, respects ethical beliefs and values, and is motivated by the dignity and rights of others.
More than 60% of Africa’s population is under the age of 25. More than 60% of Africa’s population is under the age of 25.
Our Strategic Objective
Scale Youth-Led Governance-Tech Solutions: Develop and deploy innovative, accessible civic-tech tools to enable 100,000 youth to promote transparency and accountability by 2030, aligning with AU’s governance frameworks.
Foster Inclusive Leadership Development: Build capacity among diverse youth, with 50% female participation, to use civic-tech for ethical leadership and civic engagement, addressing Africa’s 60% youth demographic.
Drive Ethical Governance Policy Integration: Advocate for 10 national governance policies by 2030, collaborating with AU and RECs to embed ethical principles and transparency.
CLE Programs
Uongozi (Ethical Leadership Program/Campaign
What will Africa’s future be like?
Description: A pan-African campaign, inspired by OGP and Mo Ibrahim Foundation, to mobilize youth for ethical governance advocacy via digital platforms, focusing on anti-corruption and inclusive policies. It includes virtual workshops, social media campaigns, and AU policy dialogues.
Outcomes: 100,000 youth mobilized, 10 national policies reformed for transparency, and 5 AU resolutions influenced by 2030.
Rationale: Addresses corruption (e.g., $148 billion annual loss in Africa) by empowering youth to advocate for ethical governance.
Digital Governance Academy
Description: A training program to equip 10,000 youth annually with digital literacy, leadership, and civic-tech skills (e.g., data analysis, policy advocacy) using low-tech platforms like SMS and WhatsApp.
Outcomes: 50,000 youth trained, 1,000 community governance initiatives launched, and 20% increase in youth participation in policy-making by 2030.
Rationale: Enhances youth agency in governance, addressing low digital literacy (43% internet penetration) and weak civic engagement.
Yes Youth Can!
Confident, skilled and knowledgeable leaders are needed to inspire, lead and foster dynamic and viable organizations and communities. This program is aimed at equipping promising youth leaders drawn from the 47 counties with skills that enhance their work in their counties.
Aimed at facilitating a platform of exchange between young continental counterparts to foster partnerships and synergies drawn from best practices that enhance solution provisionAmong the skills taught are: Effective advocacy, communication skills, Power Mapping, Resource Mobilization, etc.
Objective: To facilitate the exchange of ideas, experiences, and best practices across the world to ensure that youth have a stronger voice in decision-making.
OpenGov Citizen Platform
Description: A crowdsourcing platform for reporting governance issues (e.g., corruption, service delivery failures) via SMS and mobile apps, partnering with CSOs and media for policy impact.
Outcomes: 500,000 citizen reports mapped, 50 governance interventions influenced, and 10,000 youth engaged in monitoring by 2030.
Rationale: Leverages Africa’s 45% mobile penetration to promote transparency and youth-led accountability.
GovTech Leadership Incubator
Description: A pan-African incubator to fund and mentor 50 youth-led civic-tech startups annually, focusing on governance tools like budget trackers and anti-corruption apps. Inspired by CfA’s PesaYetu and AUCTF, it will provide grants, hackathons, and AU policy access.
Outcomes: 25 scalable gov-tech solutions deployed, 5,000 youth trained, and 5 AU policy recommendations adopted by 2030.
Rationale: Addresses Africa’s governance challenges (e.g., 50% of African countries rank below global average on IIAG) by empowering youth innovators, aligning with CELEG’s one-million-youth goal.
She Leads
CELEGs Women’s Leadership Programme is driven by the fact that women’s equality and empowerment is good politics, good economics, good for social inclusion, and an important way of ensuring peaceful and just societies.
Objective: to deliver training and awareness-raising activities to more women in Africa, to build skills, providing coaching and mentorship opportunities, and organizing high-level events to achieve transformational change in the empowerment of women in contexts critical to sustainable development processes.
