Driving positive change through continental expertise
Future Africa Forum is a platform for thought leadership that partners with organizations which are building a better Africa. We bring together the greatest young African thinkers to research and amplify bold ideas and solutions to create tangible and sustainable change across the continent.
We believe young people are best placed to shape the future of the continent and possess the unique ideas, skills and experiences that can improve the quality and effectiveness of the public, private and social sectors to help them thrive. Headquartered on the continent, Future Africa Forum is led by Africans for Africa and offers new thinking and continental convening ability grounded in local expertise.
Our story
Future Africa Forum was born out of a frustration of things not working as they should across the African continent. Gerald Chirinda, an African entrepreneur, was constantly facing government bureaucracy when launching his ventures. When trying to get a license for an education finance company that he founded in Zimbabwe in 2014, he experienced an 8-month wait for a process that was supposed to take 8-weeks. He asked himself at that point, why do things work this way? Why are things so slow? And, what is the disconnect between business and government?
Gerald realized that complaining was not a strategy and that it was up to him to contribute to a better environment and bring about efficiencies and new ways of thinking within governments, institutions and society.
The idea was to uncover why Africa still comes up against so many challenges that could easily be solved and that other parts of the world have been able to move past. Further motivation came from Gerald’s time traveling on business trips, where he observed that in many regions around the world, citizens seemed so clear on what the vision for their country was – something he felt was missing across certain African countries.
These questions and insights led Gerald to think about what the future of Africa should look like and consider how to cast a vision to a citizenry level.
Future Africa Forum was formed as a platform where African citizens could contribute to a future Africa – one that they envisioned and wanted to live in and be part of.
The organization started in a humble place with just a set of articles and a handful of contributors, but what quickly became apparent was that young African thought-leaders wanted a platform to share their ideas and were looking for a space to connect with a community of like-minded individuals.
Today, Future Africa Forum’s network has grown to more than 70 African experts from across the continent and the diaspora.
Core team
Gerald Chirinda
Founder and CEO
Sandiso Matshikiza
Stakeholder Engagement Associate
Lillian Kinyua
Manager Strategic Communications
Fellows
Contributors
Nomthandazo Sithole
Contributor
Luqman Adeiza Jinadu
Contributor
Esenam Agubretu
Contributor
Elizabeth Abubakar
Contributor
Chinedu Okoye
Contributor
Richard Kyereboah
Contributor
Melene Rossouw
Contributor
Umar Josiah Danbaba
Contributor
Lawretta Egba
Contributor
Musawenkosi Mpofu
Contributor
Oyedeji Oluwoye
Contributor
Lebo Mahlare
Contributor
Samuel J Sarr
Contributor
Phiona Martin
Contributor
Noella Bigirimana
Contributor
Ifeoluwa Ogunbufunmi
Contributor
Our initiatives
Youth Combating NTDs
Youth Combating NTDs, a partnership between Future Africa Forum and Uniting to Combat NTDs, is a global community of young people who are involved in the fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).
This initiative is designed to mainstream the participation of young people within the NTD community and is part of a global mission to impact the lives of over 1.7 billion people affected by the diseases.
Prosperity
The Legatum Institute partnered with us to develop and convene the Nairobi chapter of the 2022 Templeton World Charity Foundation’s “Global Scientific Conference on Human Flourishing”.
The conference was designed to identify a pathway to enable individuals, communities, and countries to fulfil their potential. With attendees from 15 African countries, the 30 participants came together at the end of the conference to issue a joint declaration which underlined the central importance of effective markets for human flourishing in Africa.
Future Africa Conversations
Future Africa Forum is proud to bring back its monthly podcast series that brings together our community of contributors and continental thought leaders to engage on topics of mutual interest.
From commentary on the “state of the art” in Africa to opinions on the latest developments and perils, these conversations are curated to give our community a first-hand recital of how our continental leaders see the future of Africa unfolding.
Our Network
Future Africa
Future Africa is a portfolio of companies that seek to transform the African continent by creating and inspiring stronger, innovative and more resilient economies and societies.
Future Africa Consulting
Future Africa Consulting partners with the public, private and philanthropic sectors to provide current, contextualized and actionable insights and a range of strategy development and implementation services.
Youth Combating NTDs
Youth Combating NTDs is a youth-focused and -led initiative, designed to mainstream the participation of young people within the NTD community.