ACUMEN ACADEMY, WEST FELLOWSHIP OVERVIEW

AFRICA
GOOD SOCIETY READINGS
We are equipping extraordinary leaders with
the capacity to positively transform society. The Good Society Readings use classical and
contemporary texts to explore the meaning, values
and tradeoffs in building a just society. Through these
The Acumen Fellowship is an intensive leadership
discussions, Fellows reflect on core human values, and
development program for individuals who are building the
cultivate a richer perspective of their social change work
solutions to tackle the toughest problems of our time.
in a broader historical context.

The Acumen West Africa Fellows Program brings together

ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP
exceptional leaders from across West Africa (Ghana,
Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia) who are Adaptive Leadership is a practical framework that helps
daring to embrace the difficult journey of social change. individuals and organizations lead change, particularly
Over the course of the year, the Fellows will come together during times of uncertainty. These sessions support the
to learn with–and from–each other. As a deeply bonded Fellows’ individual and collective abilities to catalyze and
cohort, they will engage with a curriculum that is based on embrace the gradual and meaningful process of change.
practical skills and character, geared towards action and
grounded in the value of moral leadership. After they
finish the first year of the Fellowship, the Fellows join our POLARITIES MANAGEMENT
global community
Polarities Management build the capacity of Fellows
of 698 Fellows.
to hold contradictory values and beliefs to be effective
agents of social change. This ability enables leaders to be
To learn more, visit
more proactive and nuanced in designing and supporting
www.acumenacademy.org/fellowship/wa
the solutions needed to tackle complex challenges.

ABOUT ACUMEN ACADEMY

AUTHENTIC VOICE
Acumen Academy is a university, reimagined—offering
Authentic Voice is a storytelling approach that focuses on
anyone, anywhere access to the training they need to be
public storytelling in service of translating the speaker’s
effective agents of change. As the world’s first and largest
values into the audience’s actions. During these sessions,
global school for social change, we are unleashing
Fellows further ground themselves in their purpose and
entrepreneurial moral leadership by making the
develop their capacity to understand audience and build
knowledge, expertise, and resources of Acumen and its
narrative with the aim of moving others to act.
trusted community widely available and accessible.
Acumen Academy blends the best of online and offline
learning to build the practical skills needed to achieve SYSTEMS THINKING
social change. Our communities are locally-rooted in the
change they are driving, yet globally connected in Systems Thinking is a framework to help Fellows grapple
learning, collaborating, challenging, and supporting each with problems in complex environments and create large-
other. The Acumen Academy team, its 698 Fellows, and scale, lasting social change. Fellows develop capacities to
450,000 coursetakers represent a global ecosystem of actively listen to various stakeholders, explore the forces
learners and doers, ready to think differently, learn within a system, construct a collective narrative, and
collaboratively, and build a more just and inclusive world. analyze the system to find opportunities for leverage.

Acumen West Africa, Plot 18 Sikiru Alade Oloko Crescent, Lekki phase 1, Lagos Nigeria
Email: Westafricafellows@acumen.org · www.acumenacademy.org/fellowship/wa
 WHAT OUR FELLOWS SAY
Queen Nwokonneya is a
Manager at Adam Smith
International where she
oversees Nigerian
inclusive economic
growth projects ranging
from investment to
business environment
and innovative health.
WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR? She summarises her Acumen journey in the
following words: "Achieving the ambitious goal of
West Africa is home to some of the world’s fastest creating the #AfricaWeWant requires bold
growing economies– yet it will require a different type of partnerships. Whilst daunting, I draw strength
leadership to ensure this growth is felt by all. Our Fellows from being an #Acumen Fellow as our stories are
are emerging leaders who come from diverse cultural, intricately connected.  Acumen has supported me
geographic, and socioeconomic backgrounds and can be to leverage the power of my voice in harnessing
found tackling problems of poverty or injustice in early- lines of differences to mobilise change, build trust
stage social ventures, non-governmental organizations, and show up for others even when it is not easy. I
government, community-based organizations or the have learnt to be more confident in my questions,
private sector. understanding that they may not lead to
immediate answers but to better questions. That
Our Fellows program: in itself, is progress."
Is for individuals who are currently leading, or are an
integral part of building an organization or initiative
that exists to eradicate poverty and are actively
changing the systems they operate in. They work Kelvin Hughes is CEO of
full-time on this initiative and typically fall in one of Clean Team Ghana
the following trajectories: (CTG). CTG is a social
business delivering
Social entrepreneurs who have launched household sanitation
or lead their own social change initiatives services to low income
(non-profit or for-profit). homes to save
households money.
Kelvin sums his
Social intrapreneurs who are running a Acumen Fellowship experience in these words: "It
social change initiative within an existing sounds so cliché, but I will have friends for life
organization (private or public sector). from this group. It has been a humbling
experience to sit with people that may well never
have met and learn from them. And I am not
Organizational builders who are an integral talking about just learning tools and frameworks,
part of building a social change organization, but learning what strength, and weakness looks
but do not play a founding role. like and understanding the person that sits
behind the polished initial impression. I have
KEY DATES been moved to tears more than once and inspired
more times than I can remember. We have been
JULY 1ST
reminded that the changes we are trying to make
Applications Open
will be tough, maybe even impossible, but also of
why not trying is not an option."
AUGUST 6TH 
Applications Close 

NOVEMBER 21TH 
Finalists invited to Lagos for Selection Conference 

DECEMBER 
2021 Cohort Selected 

Acumen West Africa, Plot 18 Sikiru Alade Oloko Crescent, Lekki phase 1, Lagos Nigeria
Email: Westafricafellows@acumen.org · www.acumenacademy.org/fellowship/wa