Campaign to train women in leadership in conservation

THE African Leadership University’s School of Wildlife Conservation (SOWC) has announced a campaign to award up to eight scholarships to passionate women in conservation with potential for leadership in senior positions in their organisations.

The campaign will officially launch on International Women’s Day – March 8.

The African Leadership University (ALU) is a network of tertiary institutions with operations in Mauritius and Rwanda. Its mission is to build 25 campuses across the continent and produce 3 million young African leaders in 50 years.

To identify the most outstanding women in the sector, the SOWC is partnering with NGOs, communitybased organisations, tourism companies, national park agencies, ministries of environment and other relevant government agencies to nominate women for the award.

The scholarships will be for admissions in the MBA for Conservation Leaders programme in October.

“The only way for conservation in Africa to work is for it to benefit Africans and perhaps most importantly, women in Africa,’’ said Fred Swaniker, founder of the ALU.

“Women are increasingly holding tourism jobs traditionally occupied by men such as rangers, trackers and members of anti-poaching units in addition to camp managers and chefs. It is the goal of this executive MBA programme to guide those women into leadership positions.”

The MBA for Conservation Leaders combines world-class business education with cuttingedge training in leadership and conservation management. It prepares mid-career high-potential conservation leaders for the next stage of their careers.

Run by the ALU, which has just been named the most innovative company in Africa by Fast Company magazine, the School of Business MBA is the first pan-African programme of its kind.

The ALU MBA learning model blends interactive, online education with in-class sessions, allowing students to build their studies around their work schedules while applying new skills, tools and frameworks directly to their organisations.

This means students can learn a new skill one evening and apply it to projects before close of business the next day. Over the 20-month course about 20 hours a week of academic coursework is required. Students will also join their classmates seven times over the course of the programme, for week-long sessions delivered by African conservation and business leaders in Kigali, Rwanda, and at one “field intensive”.

Last year, SOWC hosted the inaugural Business of Conservation Conference, which brought together leaders in the conservation, tourism, community and technology fields to promote business initiatives in conservation that benefit people and nature. Conference keynote speaker Bogolo Kenewendo, the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry in Botswana, underlined the importance of a collaborative approach to conservation: “No one likes to go out on safari and just 100 metres down the line witnesses the worst poverty ever,” she said.

The goal of the executive MBA programme is to guide women into leadership positions

Fred Swaniker Founder, African Leadership University