DO HARD THINGS

African Leadership University 2022

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“ We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things,
not because they are easy, but precisely because they are hard;
because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our
energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to

”
accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win …

US President John F. Kennedy, September 12, 1962

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The ALU Moonshot -
Letter from ALU’s Founder

Four years ago, we embarked on an ambitious and bold journey --”the ALU Moonshot”--to transform an entire continent of a billion people. We
planned to do this by developing a large scale movement of 3 million ethical, entrepreneurial leaders who could address the continent’s greatest
challenges and capture its greatest opportunities. The ‘vehicle’ we would use to develop this movement was a network of radically re-imagined
universities.

Since then, we have made remarkable progress: We have replicated our university model three times ( Mauritius, Rwanda and our School of Business)
and gained accreditation in two countries. We have grown our student body by 1,200% in just the last 2 years to 800 students. We have almost
finished the construction of a $15m custom-designed campus in Mauritius and will soon begin construction of a similar campus in Rwanda. We have
launched a highly innovative student finance company based on Income Share Agreements to make our education much more affordable and
accessible. We have created a strong brand, receiving recognition as ‘one of the 8 places where history is being made’ (New York Times) and as the
‘Harvard of Africa’ (CNN). We have built a remarkably strong team of almost 200 diverse and highly passionate people and created a culture that
inspires everyone who joins us. In 2017, our revenue grew by 620% to almost $10m and funding secured rose to almost $60m between our various
corporate entities. In many ways, we have exceeded our wildest expectations. I am tremendously grateful to everyone - our team, investors, board
members, advisors and corporate partners - who have helped us get to this point.

However, as one would expect, our journey to the moon has not been without turbulence. We have faced regulatory challenges, financial challenges,
skepticism, and so many other growing pains. As these challenges started shaking our rocketship, our faith was tested. We felt the temptation to take
less risk, to do things more conventionally and even doubted whether we were on the right journey. Yet, despite all these obstacles, we stayed strong.
I couldn’t be more proud about the resilience our team has shown in the face of such daunting ‘turbulence’ .

The title of our five year strategy--“Do Hard Things”-- is a reminder that making bold, unconventional change is hard. This strategic plan articulates an
exciting roadmap for the next five years and reminds us of the mindsets and beliefs we will need in order to achieve our ultimate vision. There will be
many more hard times. We will again feel the temptation to give up and do things conventionally. However, I truly believe that the greatest risk we can
take at this stage of our journey--with just 17 years to go before Africa has the largest workforce in the world-- is to not take any risk at all.

Africa--and the world-- needs us to do the hard and unconventional things we originally set out to do. In the end, wouldn’t we rather fail attempting to
achieve something extraordinary than succeed in achieving something ordinary?

I hope you join our bold quest to change Africa, and indeed, the world.
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-Fred Swaniker
Our purpose &
how we achieve it
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OUR PURPOSE..

..TO BE A CATALYST FOR THE

TRANSFORMATION OF AFRICA
Africa faces grand challenges

great, untapped opportunities

We will address these challenges and capture these opportunities by developing the continent’s
most talented youth into a large-scale movement of problem-solvers and change-makers. 5
 At least 3 million bold,
OUR PICTURE courageous & innovative
leaders by 2060 who will solve
OF SUCCESS Africa’s grand challenges and
capture its great opportunities
(Vision)
OUR SIX CORE BELIEFS
ABOUT TALENT & LEARNING
WE CAN DELIVER HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION AT SCALE

1) ALU can attract the top 5% of African talent. ALU has secured the premium spot as the ‘Harvard
of Africa’. This enables us to attract the most talented students. In more mature markets (e.g. US,
Brazil), thousands of other powerful university brands were established hundreds of years ago. As
such new entrants end up with the weakest students. As the ‘first mover’ in Africa, we have the
exact opposite situation--the most talented students across Africa want to attend ALU.
2) Quality will be driven by top students, not top professors. By centering our learning model
around brilliant students (who are available in abundance) and not on scarce professors, we have
removed the bottleneck to scale and also shifted our quality driver from ‘great professors’ to ‘great
1 students’. We are more selective than Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Oxford, and Cambridge.
3) We leverage culture to drive quality. We believe that besides “push” factors like curriculum,
technology, and innovative teaching, culture plays a huge role in educational outcomes. Students
“pull” themselves to learn if high expectations are set and if confidence is instilled in them. The
great thing about culture, is that once defined, it passes on to the next student at a marginal cost of
zero. It is the ‘software’ that enables us to keep quality high even as we scale
4) Our innovative learning approach drives down cost while maintaining quality. Student-driven,
project-based, personalized and technology-enabled blended learning and data analytics all drives
down cost and increases quality.

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AN UNCONVENTIONAL, STUDENT-DRIVEN (AND NOT PROFESSOR- CENTRIC)
LEARNING MODEL IS NEEDED TO BRING HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION TO AFRICA

To advance education at the speed and scale needed to transform the African continent, a
learning model centered around talented students and not professors is needed. This
means a radically reimagined and unconventional approach to education,
2 not the status quo. By centering our learning model around brilliant students (who are
available in abundance) and not on scarce professors, we have removed the bottleneck to
scale and also shifted our quality driver from ‘great professors’ to ‘great students’.

Professor-Centric Model Student-Driven Model

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 AFRICA HAS A MASSIVE TALENT POOL THAT NEEDS
OPPORTUNITY TO REALIZE THEIR POTENTIAL

Talent is equally distributed, opportunity is not.

There is an abundance of talent in Africa which does not live up to its potential due to the
3 lack of opportunity. We believe that by 2040, at least 3 million young people in Africa would
be talented enough to enrol at ALU-- enabling us to achieve scale without compromising
student quality.
Applying same ratio and
400.000
tertiary enrolment rates as US By 2040, Africa’s
students enrolled
today, Africa today would have population will
in “Ivy League”
1.6m students who would double--meaning 3.2m
and top 50 US
qualify to attend similarly students would qualify
universities
prestigious universities’

Africa: 2bn
US: 280m Africa: 1.1bn population,
population; population World’s youngest
78% tertiary population
enrolment

USA Today Africa Today Africa 2040

Based on Africa’s youth population, we believe that over 3.2 million students would be talented enough to join
ALU by 2040. We only plan to enroll 250-500K of these students at a time as we scale. One would have to
believe that Africans are inherently less talented than the rest of the world for this not to be true
Source: Worldbank Data, Unesco; 10
Gross Enrollment Rate: Number of students enrolled in a given level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the official school-age population corresponding to the same level of education. For the tertiary level, the population used is the 5-year age group starting from the
official secondary school graduation age. Note: Estimates based on total enrolled students in US Ivy League and Top Colleges/Universities; for illustration purposes not taking into account low tertiary enrolment rates in Africa (8%).
 THE VALUE PROPOSITION OF A UNIVERSITY EXTENDS
FAR BEYOND ITS ACADEMIC PROGRAM

We believe that institutions of higher learning need to equip students with six
fundamental elements. “Academics” are only one part (16%) of a much larger value
4 proposition. All other elements are equally (or more) important. ALU is already delivering
the other 5 elements well. Therefore we should be courageous in boldly innovating on
the ‘academic’ portion.

Traditional University Offering (even Ivy League) ALU Value Proposition

“THE STAMP“* NETWORK “THE STAMP“ NETWORK

A degree signals top talent A network of peers A strong brand-top, A powerful and unconven-
to employers. work-ready talent, tional network of experts, peers,
innovators & leaders investors, mentors & employers

FACTS & PERSONALIZED ONE YEAR OF WORK

FIGURES** LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Academic theory Individual learning journey
Impactful internships and real
(quickly forgotten) aligned with one’s life
world projects.
mission.
VALUES &
21st CENTURY CHARACTER
SKILLS Values (e.g humility & curiosity).
“Learning how to learn”. 7 Leadership, Initiative, ethics,
‘meta-skills’ for 21st century. resilience innovation, and
imagination 11
* Leading researchers argue that a college degree mainly (80%) serves as a signalling effect to employers and as such does very little to increase the ‘human capital’ of students;
** In times of rapid change where a large number of jobs will be automated and many of the future’s jobs do not exist yet, it is vital to learn skills that prepare students for a life of learning, rather than equip them with facts & figures that are soon outdated.
IN THE ERA OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, A “NEW
INTELLIGENCE” IS MORE CRUCIAL THAN EVER

As machines become more adept than humans in areas that previously required academic
knowledge, human traits like Imagination, Creativity, Resilience, Ethics, Empathy,
Passion, Courage, Teamwork, Curiosity, Values, Leadership, Entrepreneurship and
emotional intelligence will matter much more than basic ‘facts and figures’ (which
5 computers can learn). In order to ‘future-proof’ graduates, we see these traits as a
fundamental end - not a byproduct of education. This bodes well for ALU’s strengths.
We may not produce deeply technical lawyers, doctors, and engineers. But we will produce a
large pool of bold, innovative, passionate, versatile leaders and entrepreneurs who can lead
teams to achieve great results and who can constantly reinvent themselves as the world
changes.

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THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO LEARN BEYOND THE
CLASSROOM

Conventional classes with structured curriculum and defined learning outcomes are just
one way to learn. In the information age, students can learn through other,
individualized, self-directed approaches that are just as effective and impactful such
6 as interviewing experts, conducting field studies, shadowing professionals,
watching TED talks, attending conferences, implementing projects, conducting
experiments, driving research, and many other practical and experiential ways of
learning
Peer-to-Peer Learning
Interviewing experts Implementing
Prototypes &
Mentoring experiments
Participating in
Internships Serving as an understudy

Conducting Field Online / Offline

Studies learning
Engaging
in projects Reading books &
journals
Receiving
Feedback Participating in Conferences, 13
workshops or Talks
OUR VALUES

Integrity
We have the courage to do
what is right

Restless Continuous
Excellence Learning
We uphold the highest We embrace challenges with
standards in all we do curiosity and a beginner’s
mindset.

Ownership Diversity
We have amazing people who We respect and celebrate the
use their own initiative beliefs and cultures of others

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 OUR TEAM & CULTURE

● Our culture is defined by the unwritten rules about how things work
at ALU. It encapsulates our values, mindsets and most importantly,
our behaviors

● Our culture is our most important source of sustainable competitive

advantage in the long term (our “secret sauce”)

● We have been deliberate about shaping our culture. This includes

how and what we reward and celebrate, who we hire, our rituals,
our shared experiences and role modeling

● Our staff and students are the most important carriers of our
culture

● We need to be relentless about hiring people who fully live and

breathe our culture

● Culture is the secret sauce in education and leadership

development--it is what inspires students to do for themselves
instead of being ‘forced’ to learn

● We will need to refine our culture to support our new strategy

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OUR CORE PRODUCTS

LEADERSHIP GLOBAL MANAGER

CORE CHALLENGES TRAINING

ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP

Accredited
Brand X
University
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PRODUCT I: LEADERSHIP CORE

Leadership Core is the foundational program every ALU student undertakes at the beginning of their learning
journey. It prepares young people with skills needed to be successful professionals or entrepreneurs.

We approached over 150 organisations around the world and asked them which skills they typically found
missing in college graduates…
...and distilled them into 7 Meta Skills … that we teach in 4 Leadership Core modules.

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PRODUCT II: GLOBAL CHALLENGES
Global Challenges is ALU’s signature degree program that develops students into creative problem-solvers for
the 21st century. Students build upon their experience from the Leadership Core by declaring a ‘mission’ for
their life (vs an academic major). They then curate personalized learning journeys in an entrepreneurial and
applied way: Understanding the problem they want to solve, developing an innovative solution, and
implementing it with a team.
Learning happens in multiples ways (building on the Leadership Core experience), e.g. interviewing experts,
shadowing professionals, attending conferences, field studies, hackathons, learning from peers, etc. A student
could do an entire global challenges degree without taking a single online course or attending a single lecture.
Students learn by exploring and practicing rather than by memorizing — and in doing so develop a passion for
learning and a growth mindset that stays with them forever. They learn to become problem-solvers who can keep
solving new problems as the world changes and as their passions evolve. In this way, we prepare our graduates
for jobs that don’t even exist yet and for a world that is rapidly changing.
Seven Grand Challenges Seven Great Opportunities

URBANIZATION AGRICULTURE

EDUCATION NATURAL RESOURCE MGMT.

HEALTHCARE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION

CLIMATE CHANGE REGIONAL INTEGRATION

GOVERNANCE ARTS, DESIGN AND CULTURE

JOB CREATION TOURISM

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INFRASTRUCTURE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN
PRODUCT III: MANAGER TRAINING

ALU’s Manager Training Programme is delivered through short courses for middle managers as part of our
Lifelong-Learning philosophy. It serves 3 main purposes: (1) it allows ALU to continuously acquire intelligence
about trends in the workplace (which can be fed back into our curriculum for undergraduates); (2) It enables us to
scale our internship placement abilities by giving us direct access to hundreds of thousands of hiring managers
(vs just the HR dept or CEO); and (3) it allows us to have more immediate impact by imparting better leadership
and managerial skills on people who are playing leadership roles today

The typical middle manager program could comprise of monthly, 3-day in-person modules for 6-8 months, with
practical project assignments and online learning in-between. It will initially focus on General Management &
Leadership Skills and Data Science.

SIX MONTH PERIOD

In person training
(2-3 days)
at ALU Hub

Online training and real-world application

(6-8 weeks)

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OUR DNA:
ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP
Infused into all our programs is the philosophy and practice of entrepreneurial leadership
We define an Entrepreneurial leader as one who is:
● Not bound by constraints of what exists today. They are optimistic and lead with ‘what if?’
● Nimble, responsive, iterative—They take initiative
● Resilient—they don’t give up when knocked down
● Creative--they find innovative ways to solve problems
● Imbued with faith—they see possibilities and not only obstacles
● Stubborn about their vision, but flexible with their approach
● Visionary, bold & courageous—willing to take risks
● Humble--recognize that they don’t know everything and continuously learn and show respect to others

Entrepreneurial leaders (i) solve complex problems, (ii) in creative ways, (iii) with limited
resources. They achieve more than anyone thinks is possible with less than anyone thinks is
possible. Africa needs these kinds of leaders in government, civil society, and in business
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Our priorities
2018 - 2022

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 ALU’S 5 YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN -
OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, WE WILL FOCUS ON TWO THINGS

1 2
Strategic Priority 1: Strategic Priority 2:

STRENGTHEN AND DEVELOP AND SCALE

CONSOLIDATE OUR BRAND X
CURRENT OFFERINGS

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PRIORITY 1:
STRENGTHEN AND
CONSOLIDATE
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 PRIORITY 1: STRENGTHEN AND CONSOLIDATE
WHY
We have experimented a lot since
we launched ALU in 2013. This was
a necessary part of the
entrepreneurial process to achieve
product-market fit
Now, to enable long-term growth
and scale, we need to pause to
ensure the quality and
sustainability of our current
offerings. We need to slow down
and build a more solid foundation
before we scale.
Mauritius
WHAT WHEN & HOW
1) Strengthen Quality of Learning in line with Over the next 2 years, we
ALU’s vision will primarily focus on
Strengthening and
2) Build sustainable systems, processes, and Consolidating our current
technology across all functions offerings.
3) Build strong and effective teams and
management During that time, we will
deliberately slow down
4) Strengthen academic governance structures growth in student numbers
and quality assurance in our accredited university
5) Build world-class campus infrastructure in offerings (MRU, RWA,
Mauritius and Rwanda ALUSB)
Rwanda
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STRENGTHEN QUALITY OF LEARNING
IN LINE WITH ALU’S VISION

ALU’s envisioned Learning Principles

Degree Programs

1. Active
2. Social
Global Challenges
3. Holistic
4. Integrated
5. Personalized
Leadership Core

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BUILD SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS AND
PROCESSES

To enable sustainability and scale, we need to strengthen our systems and process
across all functions:

Finance
Marketing Operations
& Sales

Data
Technology Risk
Analytics Recruit-
Manage-
ment ment&
Perfor- Onboarding
mance

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BUILD STRONG AND EFFECTIVE TEAM AND
MANAGEMENT

1. Continue to attract the best people

2. Sustain a strong culture
3. Develop effective managers and leaders
4. Build world-class performance management
5. Create culture of accountability

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ACADEMIC GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES &
QUALITY ASSURANCE

1. Establish the Academic Governance

structures required to be in regulatory
compliance with accreditors, e.g. Curriculum
committees, assessment boards.

2. Establish a Quality Assurance system to

ensure we are in regulatory compliance with
accreditors, including development of all
essential policies and procedures, training on
implementation, and assessment of the
effectiveness of policies and procedures

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 BUILD OUT CAMPUS INFRASTRUCTURE

ALC Campus in Mauritius (expected move-in date: March 2018)

ALU Campus in Rwanda (expected start date of construction: Sept 2018)

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PRIORITY 2:
BRAND X

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PRIORITY 2: DEVELOP AND SCALE BRAND X

What is Brand X?

Leadership Core Manager Training

● Six months in person LC program plus six months
internship
● Target segment until 2022: Recent College
graduates
● Highly affordable for students through ISA
($0-$300 out of pocket)
● Meet managers/future employers in same space
● 3 day courses combined with blended learning
activities (for $1,500 per course)
● Keeps ALU offerings relevant to employers
● Builds relationships between employers and
students
● Generates impact on today’s leaders

Lifelong Learning Community for top 5% of talent

● Continuous learning (through annual membership)
● Powerful network
● Co-working spaces (incl. events, workshops, competitions)
● Lifelong career support 31
INITIALLY, BRAND X WILL OFFER LEADERSHIP
CORE TO COLLEGE GRADUATES*
Student Lifelong Learning Journey (until 2022)

University Brand X
(graduate with Leadership
Bachelor Core Employment / Entrepreneurship
(1 year, incl.
Degree from
Internship; pre-
any university) employment) Brand X Brand X
Manager Lifelong
Training Learning

Student Lifelong Learning Journey (after 2022)

Brand X Brand X
Leadership Global
Highschool Core Challenges Employment / Entrepreneurship
(1 year, incl. (2 years, incl.
internship) internship)
Brand X Brand X
Manager Lifelong
Training Learning 32
* This eliminates the need for local accreditation for Brand X spaces
ORGANISATIONAL FOCUS OVER NEXT 5 YEARS
Ind
icat
ive

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Strengthen and
Consolidate
Scale Brand X
(LC + MT)
Strengthen and
Consolidate
MRU and RWA Scale Brand X Scale Brand X
(LC + MT) (LC + MT)
Scale Brand X
(LC + MT) Launch full
Brand X:
Include Global
Launch Brand X Challenges
(LC + MT)

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 10 NEW “BRAND X HUBS” OVER NEXT 5 YEARS
Ind
icat
ive

Today 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Mauritius Mauritius Mauritius Mauritius Mauritius Mauritius
Rwanda Rwanda Rwanda Rwanda Rwanda Rwanda
ALUSB ALUSB ALUSB ALUSB ALUSB ALUSB
Nairobi Nairobi Nairobi Nairobi Nairobi
Johannesburg Johannesburg Johannesburg Johannesburg Johannesburg
Abidjan Abidjan Abidjan Abidjan
Accra Accra Accra Accra
Casablanca Casablanca Casablanca
Lagos Lagos Lagos
Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam
Dakar Dakar
Cairo Cairo
Kinshasa Kinshasa
...
...
Global 34
How we sustain
ourselves

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 OUR CUSTOMERS
Primary customers What they pay for How much they pay

Parents & Families Bachelor Degrees at ALU Mauritius or $4,000 -

(African & international) Rwanda 15,000 / year

Talented Youth Skills & access to network (via Brand X) $0-$300

/ year*

Corporations Manager Training for their middle managers $1,500

/ course

Secondary customers

Philanthropists Unlimited amounts

Impact & Naming Rights
(Individuals & Foundations) (millions)

Governments Education of citizens & access to innovation Unlimited amounts

(e.g. by sponsoring an ALU campus or students) (millions)
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*Plus 10% of earnings for 5 years
 OUR FOUR OPERATING ENTITIES AND
HOW WE RAISE CAPITAL
Only pay Grants of
ISA of up to
what you can up to $
$2,000
afford 1,000

ALU ALU African Leadership Foundation for

Education Real Estate Finance Company African Leadership

Provides world-class Finances students’ Provides scholarships

Builds campuses around education in return of a for students and
tertiary education and
the continent share of their future funding for special
training
income programs

Funded by equity and Funded by

Funded by equity and Funded by equity and
debt investors or large Philanthropists /
debt investors debt investors
foundations Governments

Our innovative ecosystem makes ALU’s transformative education

financially accessible to as many talented students as possible
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THINGS WE WILL NOT DO
OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS

We will not: We will not:

REGULATED RESEARCH IN A
UNIVERSITY CAMPUS* CAPITAL-INTENSIVE,
TRADITIONAL WAY
We will not:
DEEPLY TECHNICAL GRADUATES*

innovative problem-solvers and leaders

We will not: We will not:
BROAD VARIETY OF EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
DEGREES. Global Challenges is our
single focus
We will not: We will not:
SMALL SCHOOLS OF
ELITE EXCELLENCE*

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*We will adopt the Boyer Model of Scholarship Instead
What success will
look like

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 PICTURE OF OPERATIONAL SUCCESS:
STRENGTHEN AND CONSOLIDATE
Where do we stand today?
● ALU has had strong growth since inception and achieved a lot. But we
have been operating in ‘start-up’ mode,, with many unsustainable and
unscalable ways of working. We do not have strong systems and
processes, are not leveraging technology enough, have low data
transparency, weak risk management and are too dependent on a few
key people
● We have built a unique and inspiring culture among staff and
students. However, many are wary of scale and revenue generation
● We have built a strong brand across the continent and received global
recognition as “Harvard of Africa” (CNN) and “one of the places where
history is being made” (NYT); we attract the top African talent
● We have built a strong Leadership Core Product that receives very
positive feedback from Employers and Students
● Our Degree programs are not yet delivering the quality of learning
and innovative approaches we would like to see; yet are more
innovative than most traditional universities
● Our academic governance structures and quality assurance is better
than most African universities, but still very much work in progress
● Our customer experience (across students, parents, employers and
staff) is mostly inconsistent
● Our Entrepreneurship Ecosystem on campus is in its nascent stages;
Too few students are engaged in entrepreneurial activity
● We are in the final stages of finishing our Mauritius custom-made
campus and have partially secured funding for the Rwanda campus
● We have making financial losses in Mauritius and Rwanda campuses,
while the ALUSB is close to break-even
● Some of our students (esp in MRU) lack humility, resilience, and have a
‘customer’ mindset where they expect ALU to be at their beck and call
ALU (MRU, RWA, ALUSB) in 2022
● ALU has strong systems and processes in place and leverages technology
and data analytics across marketing, recruitment, sales, finance, risk
management. All key processes are documented; performance tracking is
creating high accountability, and there is little key person dependency
● ALU delivers world-class learning experiences across all programs and
campuses in line with ALU’s vision of innovative teaching and learning
(4.5/5 across all programs from parents, students and employers); our
Leadership Core & Global Challenges Degree receive top feedback (4.5/5)
● ALU’s unique culture is strong among staff, students and alumni and is
more entrepreneurial, unconventional, and excited about scale
● We are a global brand, known for our innovative approach to education,
entrepreneurial leadership and the Global Challenges Degree; We are
known as the most innovative university in the world and 25% of our
students in MRU and RWA come from outside of Africa
● Most of our students in MRU and RWA have employment offers or have
started a venture before their graduation
● We have a vibrant entrepreneurial leadership student culture on campus
and created a pan-African ecosystem of entrepreneurial changemakers
● We have achieved high operational efficiency and breakeven at our two
campuses and ALUSB
● We are showcased for our approach to learning by regulatory bodies such
as HEC and TEC (and independent of GCU)
● ALU’s custom-designed campuses in MRU and RWA are lighthouses for
how architecture and infrastructure foster culture and innovation
● We have phased out all degree programs except for Global Challenges
and Computer Science in Rwanda
● Our students are humble, have more resilience, and understand that40
leadership is about service (not privilege and being served)
 PICTURE OF OPERATIONAL SUCCESS:
DEVELOP AND SCALE BRAND X
Where do we stand today?
● ALU has successfully proven the impact and effectiveness
of Leadership Core in developing work-ready graduates.
Students and employers both rate it very highly
● We have applied our learning methodology to a few pilot
Manager Training programs and have received positive
feedback
● We have created the African Leadership Finance
Company (ALFC), a student finance company that uses
Income Share Agreements. Student demand for finance
has been overwhelming and investor interest is strong
● ALU has successfully placed over 400 students in
internships across the continent and built strong
relationships with leading employers
● We have established a start-up team to conduct
systematic user research and design and develop the key
Brand X “product” (Leadership Core for College Graduates
and Middle Manager Training)
Brand X in 2022
● Brand X has grown to over 10 campuses serving approx. 50,000
students across the continent offering Leadership Core to college
graduates and training to middle managers in the same space
● Offering Leadership Core and Manager Training in the same space
enables students and managers to build relationships and as such 80% of
students have at least one job offer before completion.
● Brand X attracts top talent from universities (and eventually high
schools) with over 400k applications a year and is the number one
manager training provider on the continent (4.5/5 rating)
● Operating manuals, systematized processes and robust technology
enable high operational efficiency and allows us to open a new Brand X
site in under 3 months
● ALU has developed Brand X as an independent global brand known for
innovative education and lifelong learning (top 5% brand perception
among students looking for an alternative learning experience).
● Brand X’s lifelong learning community is vibrant (incl. Monthly events,
workshops, competitions)
● Brand X has an extraordinary entrepreneurial culture among staff,
students and alumni fostered by a vibrant ecosystem (30% of Brand X
graduates are entrepreneurs after 3 years)
● ALFC is the world’s largest ISA provider due to Brand X ($100m
annual funding) and nurtures a movement of ownership for education
financing among all students (<5% default rate)
● Brand X has admitted its first cohort of high school graduates who come
for the Leadership Core and Global Challenges degree (awarded
remotely from ALU Rwanda) 41
PICTURE OF IMPACT
SERVING 50,000 CHANGEMAKERS/YEAR IN 5 YEARS

Ind
icat
ive

50,000 Brand X

UNLEASH
SCALE

BEGIN
SCALING
NATURAL
GROWTH
3,000 Rwanda
1,000 Mauritius

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PICTURE OF FINANCIAL SUCCESS:
$160M REVENUES, $79 OPERATING PROFIT IN 5 YEARS
Operating
Profit: $79M
(49%)

$100m $160m

$20m

$10m
$15m

$15m

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Mindsets we’ll need to
get there

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 OUR OPERATING PRINCIPLES:
To be further
MINDSETS AND BELIEFS TO WIN developed

1. We believe in young people and give them opportunities that enable them to achieve extraordinary things
2. ‘You can’t get to the moon with a porsche’ ⏤ We need unconventional ways if we want achieve unconventional results
3. The biggest risk we can take is not taking risks ⏤ For us there is no failure, there are only learning opportunities
4. Rhythms & Routines are the mother of scale ⏤We are committed to our daily check-ins, weekly reviews, FLD, Assembly,
quarterly retreats, annual all staff, etc.
5. A strong culture is the best way to maintain quality as we scale⏤ Scale is about transmitting this culture
6. Our students are NOT “customers” to be pleased (they are beneficiaries we need to develop)⏤ We solve for the system, not
an individual student’s whims. This will not always make us popular with our students
7. We are proudly African, but global in our thinking and footprint ⏤ This means we hire global talent, we use global
technology, we use global content, and we will eventually have global operations/sites (with Brand X).
8. We have faith and believe ⏤ Entrepreneurship is not a science. It requires a huge amount of faith, luck, perseverance,
timing and trust
9. We are resilient and optimistic ⏤ Just when everything hits the fan is exactly when you need to be most optimistic.
Acknowledge what went wrong. But don’t dwell on it. Pick yourself up and make a plan. If that doesn’t work, make another
one. Keep going, no matter what. Don’t be paralyzed by what looks like failure. Pause, learn, and move on.
10. Pivots are good. It’s the lifeblood of Entrepreneurship ⏤ Don’t just blindly stick to a plan even when it ain’t workin’!

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