Survival chances of the Young African Leaders Initiative may dwindle if enough funds are not raised to sustain the programme which’s current financial support system elapses in 2019.

“The 4 year is going to elapse in 2019 and so we have at least a whole year and half to work on what we need to do to sustain the programme. So we have put together a sustainability strategy that we’re going round to people, pitching to businesses, organisations and donors so that they provide some support so that the programme can continue”, director of YALI West Africa revealed.

Since its inception in 2015, the Young African Leaders Initiative has trained 1775 people/entrepreneurs across the African continent.

The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) was launched by the United States government as a signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders. The need to invest in grooming strong, results-oriented leaders comes out of the statistics: nearly 1 in 3 Africans are between the ages of 10 and 24, and approximately 60% of Africa’s total population is below the age of 35.

The programme has been sponsored by USAID and the Mastercard Foundation till May 2019. But Mrs. Shola Safo-Duodu noted that for the continuity of the programme, it has to be financed when the current support system has elapsed.

She indicated that there was the need for her outfit to do more to raise awareness in order to attract corporate businesses to finance the programme.

The Young African Leaders Initiative attracts 18-35 year olds who are very active on social media and as a result have a huge social media presence.