Leading Change

What Leading Change does

Leading Change Africa (legal entity: Leading Change Inc.) is a U.S.-headquartered non-profit founded in 2014 by Ousmane Kabré, with operational centers in Burkina Faso and Mali and program activity extending into Côte d'Ivoire. The organization runs a portfolio of free, donor-funded programs for African youth aged 18–35, including a flagship Leadership Academy (virtual cohorts in English and French plus in-person cohorts in Burkina Faso and Mali), a Post-Secondary Program supporting Undergraduate and Graduate scholars through English training, mentorship, and direct scholarships of up to $2,500 plus MasterCard Foundation and WESLI Carlos Osorio Scholarship pathways, the LCAP Blueprint entrepreneurship accelerator, an LCAP Rural Development module delivering Foundations for Farming (Pfumvudza) conservation agriculture training with paid 6-month internships, and the EmpowerHER and Inspiring Journeys initiatives. A new regional Challenge IA 2026 program, co-developed with Intro Group, trains 50 AI talents from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Côte d'Ivoire across an 8-week curriculum, 2-week build phase, and regional finale.

Name

Leading Change

Legal name

Leading Change Inc.

Website

https://leadingchange-africa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Leading Change Africa is a U.S.-headquartered non-profit founded in 2014 that delivers free, donor-funded leadership, scholarship, entrepreneurship, and conservation agriculture programs to young Africans aged 18–35, primarily operating in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Côte d'Ivoire with U.S. university placement pipelines.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Leadership Development and Non-formal Education (Non-profit)

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

International Development & Donor-Funded Education Programs (EDADALAB)

Keywords

• Youth leadership training
• Non-profit education programs
• Entrepreneurship accelerator
• Scholarship support services
• Conservation agriculture training

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. One-time Donations: Donor contributions collected via Bloomerang CRM donation widget; processed as individual gifts supporting general operations and programs.
2. Recurring Monthly Giving: Monthly givers program providing sustained, predictable funding for ongoing Leadership Academy and scholarship operations.
3. Corporate & Foundation Sponsorships: Sponsorship from corporate partners and foundations; visible funder logos include EY, PwC, Quarles & Brady, University of Wisconsin-Madison, MATC, Wellspring, Kelben, GMF, Neider-Boucher, and various African diaspora organizations.
4. Event Sponsorship (Annual Gala): Tiered event sponsorship for the annual celebration: Vibramium ($25,000+), Platinum ($15,000–$24,999), Gold ($10,000–$14,999), Platinum/Hope Advocate ($5,000–$9,999), with associated logo placements and program recognition.
5. University & Scholarship Funding: Third-party funding routed through partners such as WESLI (Carlos Osorio Scholarship), MasterCard Foundation, and partner universities (UW-Madison, Madison College) to cover scholar tuition, room, and board.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Leading Change Africa is a non-profit that delivers free leadership development, post-secondary scholarship support, entrepreneurship acceleration, and conservation agriculture training programs to young Africans aged 18–35. Programs are delivered through a blended virtual and in-person model (YAM.edu LMS + Zoom + field centers in Burkina Faso and Mali) and are fully funded by individual donations, recurring monthly givers, corporate sponsorships, tiered event sponsorships, and partner-routed scholarships (e.g., MasterCard Foundation, WESLI Carlos Osorio Scholarship).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Leadership Academy A flagship 10-week leadership, personal, and professional development program equipping African youth aged 18–35 with leadership skills, delivered through virtual cohorts in English and French via the YAM.edu platform plus in-person cohorts in Burkina Faso and Mali, and including the Inspiring Journeys guest-speaker series. Free to selected scholars.
• Post-Secondary Program (Undergraduate & Graduate Tracks) A two-track college-preparatory and scholarship-support initiative for high-achieving African students, providing English proficiency training, leadership development, mentorship, and university scholarship support including up to $2,500 in direct LCA sponsorship for top undergraduate participants and full-scholarship guidance for graduate applicants. Free to selected scholars.
• LCAP Blueprint (Leading Change Accelerator Program — Entrepreneurship) The Leading Change Accelerator Program (LCAP) Blueprint — a 10-week virtual accelerator supporting young African entrepreneurs at idea or early stage (0–1 year) to develop business plans, build and test Minimum Viable Products, and prepare to pitch for seed funding, with mentorship from experienced African entrepreneurs. Free to selected participants.
• LCAP Rural Development (Conservation Agriculture) An agricultural development program delivered as part of LCAP, providing intensive 7–10 day training in soil conservation, crop management, and sustainable farming techniques (Foundations for Farming / Pfumvudza), plus financial literacy and agribusiness modules, with a 6-month paid internship option for selected scholars. Free to selected rural youth and smallholder farmers.
• EmpowerHER A women-empowerment initiative supporting women changemakers to lead and grow their ventures (106 women empowered per impact statistics on the homepage).
• Inspiring Journeys A mentorship initiative featuring guest speakers from diverse sectors sharing real-world leadership experiences and insights with scholars (133 young leaders mentored per impact statistics).
• Challenge IA 2026 A regional artificial-intelligence innovation competition organized in partnership with Intro Group, bringing together 50 young talents from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Côte d'Ivoire to develop AI solutions adapted to African realities across three phases (training, project development, regional final). Free to selected participants.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,255+ lives impacted since inception
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered major, flagship, core and minor.

• Intro GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2026Intro Group co-developed the Challenge IA 2026 with Leading Change Africa — a regional AI competition training 50 young talents from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Côte d'Ivoire. Founder Ousmane Kabré is also Founder & CEO of Intro Group LLC.
• WESLI (Wisconsin ESL Institute)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 September 2018WESLI partnered with Founder Ousmane Kabre to deliver English language training for Leading Change scholars, creating the Carlos Osorio Scholarship for Change to fully fund scholars at WESLI in 2018. WESLI President Carlos Osorio cited alignment with WESLI's 1981 mission of supporting international students.
• University of Wisconsin-MadisonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUW-Madison is a placement partner for scholars; founder Ousmane Kabre completed undergraduate and graduate degrees there. Russell Schwalbe (Financial Reporting Director, Office of the Vice Chancellor) and Aliko Songolo (Professor Emeritus, African Cultural Studies and French) serve on the Board. Logo displayed as Funding Partner.
• Madison CollegemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMadison College is a key placement partner — Josephine Segrado is a Leading Change Scholar at Madison College. Dr. Turina Bakken (Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs) serves on the Board. Logo displayed as Funding Partner.
• YAM EducationcoreTechnology or IntegrationYAM.edu Learning Management System powers the self-paced component of the 10-week Virtual Leadership Academy (English and French cohorts), the LCAP Blueprint entrepreneurship accelerator, and the Graduate Track Program's English proficiency training for French-speaking students.
• Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMATC – Milwaukee (700 W State St, WI 53233) hosts the Leading Change Africa 10-year celebration gala on November 13, 2025. MATC logo also displayed as Funding Partner. Sadique Isahaku (Dean, General Education Academic & Career Pathway) serves on the Board.
• Jack Kent Cooke FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNatalie Rodriguez Jansorn (VP, Scholarship Programs, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation) serves on the Board of Directors, supporting scholar scholarship pathways.
• 3DE Education (Junior Achievement)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMichael Frohna (Partner, Forward Team Dynamics | 3DE Education Director, Junior Achievement) serves on the Board of Directors.
• International Credit Union Regulators' NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDave Grace (Executive Director, International Credit Union Regulators' Network) serves on the Board of Directors.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• African Leadership Academy: Pan-African youth leadership institution operating a residential college-prep model in South Africa. Directly comparable to LCA in mission (developing African leaders), cohort-based selection, and university placement outcomes, though at larger scale and residential.
• African Leadership University: Higher-education network training African leaders and entrepreneurs across Mauritius and Rwanda. Comparable to LCA's Post-Secondary Program and LCAP Blueprint in targeting leadership and entrepreneurship outcomes for African youth.
• Ashesi University Foundation: Ghana-based liberal-arts university with strong scholarship and leadership development focus. Overlaps with LCA's mission on African leadership cultivation and undergraduate scholarship support.

Broad incumbents

• The MasterCard Foundation (Scholars Program): Large-scale foundation running its own Africa-wide secondary and undergraduate scholarship program. LCA funnels scholars into MCF applications, making it both a partner and a much larger incumbent in the same talent pipeline.
• Tony Elumelu Foundation: Pan-African entrepreneurship program providing training, mentorship, and seed capital to African entrepreneurs. Overlaps with LCA's LCAP Blueprint accelerator and entrepreneur-training outcomes, at significantly larger scale.
• Generation (by McKinsey): Global youth-employment nonprofit offering accelerated training and job placement. Comparable in mission to upskilling African youth (e.g., LCA's 267 professionals upskilled through Special Accelerator Series) but operates at global, not regional, scale.
• Educate!: East Africa-focused youth leadership and entrepreneurship program integrated into secondary schools. Comparable in mission to LCA's leadership and entrepreneurship training, though delivered via formal schools rather than out-of-school cohorts.

Regional players

• Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator: South Africa-focused youth employment accelerator bridging young people to first jobs. Comparable model to LCA's accelerator and entrepreneurship training but geographically concentrated in South Africa rather than West Africa.

Emerging players

• African Leadership Network: Pan-African fellowship and leadership program for mid-career professionals. Comparable alumni-network and leadership-development thesis to LCA, though targeting an older, more established cohort.

Others

• Global Citizen (Youth Leadership): Global anti-poverty platform with youth leadership and advocacy programming. Related in mobilizing young leaders around development goals and accessing corporate sponsorship, though operating as an advocacy organization rather than direct training provider.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/leadingchangeafrica

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Leading Change