For the third year of AGYLE, the African-German leadership programme, an international expert jury has selected 40 young leaders from Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, Tunisia and Germany out of a total of 250 applications.
AGYLE (African German Young Leaders in Business) is jointly run by the Agency for Business & Economic Development (AWE) and Germany – Land of Ideas on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The programme is aimed at connecting young leaders from Africa and Germany in order to facilitate collaborations across continents and develop solutions to common global challenges.
A female entrepreneur from Ghana who makes women fit for digitisation, a Senegalese who helps improve healthcare in rural areas through new technologies, a German set to digitise the baker’s trade – all of the 40 leaders of the 2023 class give a face to their country’s wealth of innovation: www.agyle-programme.com
“Africa still tends to be perceived as a ‘problem continent’, and this prevents us from recognising the momentum to be found there and the smart, innovative and committed people who are driving development in various countries. We are proud to be able to contribute to the exchange between young German and African leaders via the AGYLE project and thus encourage closer cooperation between countries in the long term,” says Dr Philipp Mehne, Managing Director of Germany – Land of Ideas.
Almuth Dörre, Acting Director of the Agency for Business & Economic Development, places high expectations on the programme participants: “AGYLE is building a network of young leaders from Africa and Germany who are joining forces to address today’s key challenges. This is where people from highly diverse contexts get together – with fresh ideas, creative power, and the belief in a better future. Digital transformation has opened up many opportunities that are there to be leveraged. Together we are shaping an interconnected world full of valuable potential.”
The networking event in Berlin: The annual theme of the 2023 AGYLE programme is “Digital transformation – young leaders working towards a green and inclusive future”. Based on this guiding principle, the 40 young leaders will get together for the AGYLE week in Berlin from 11 to 15 September 2023. The focus of the event week will be on interdisciplinary exchange and networking, professional motivation and cross-border cooperation among the young leaders. The centrepiece of the joint week will be a design thinking lab that will enable mixed teams to develop and refine innovative business ideas. The most promising idea will be awarded a prize at the closing event. The programme further includes panel discussions, talks, company visits and cultural activities.
