Strides towards wealth creation
Burundi-based youth organisation, African Rebirth (AR), is mobilising the youth on the continent to coaching and mentoring sessions to narrow the knowledge gap in entrepreneurship, business management and governance between them and celebrated tycoons. Our Journalist CHIMWEMWE MANGAZI engages the organisation’s founder and president Enoch Tumwine to find out more.
What is African Rebirth?
African Rebirth is a Pan- African non-partisan organisation that seeks to empower young African leaders. It was founded in 2021 in Burundi. Our mission is to defy mediocrity, inspire and empower young African leaders with a mindset of peace, unity and prosperity. We offer mentorship, leadership programmes, diplomatic trainings which we call African Rebirth Model United Nations, we have alumni development programs and research and publications.
In the mentorship leadership initiative, young people across the 55 Africa states are recruited, oriented and trained by top continental and global government leaders in politics, business, and civil society. The aim is to close the inter-generational gap that exists between top leaders and young people. This also provides an opportunity for the top leaders to acquire knowledge on challenges and possible solutions to propel youth participation in wealth creation. We operate across Africa and our headquarters are in Bujumbura, Burundi.
What inspired formation of the movement?
Have you ever wondered why some people and nations alike succeed and others do not? The power to succeed or fail solely depends on the level of strategic thinking. How we think as a society determines the level of our success. In resonance with Africa, our mindset and ideological capacity have hindered our progress as a continent.
I am aware that development takes time and no doubt some countries have made tremendous progress. For example, if you look at human capacity; we have got the best intellects, talk of market and labour; we have the youngest population full of energy and innovations, talk about the land, 60 percent of arable African land is uncultivated. Crazy enough people still die of hunger and are being fed by the World Food Program.
African Rebirth started with this endless search and cultivation of a renewed mindset. A mind that is tired of mediocrity, a mindset that is deeply rooted in the ideology of excellence, prosperity and accountability. We are a laboratory where leadership is discovered, talents are natured, and dreams are made a reality for Africa. The ability to serve and empower others remains the noblest of all human qualities. A reason I strive to enlighten, empower and inspire others to noble limitless possibilities of human endeavour.
Who is targeted for these programmes?
Our target and the DNA of AR is the young people. Over 60 percent of Africa’s population is under the age of 25 and by 2030 Africa’s youth will constitute 42 percent of the global youth populace. Imagine such a number without jobs, education, and hope but full of despair. It is a disaster and part of the insecurities Africa is facing is that the majority of our young population are jobless chronically and ideologically. This is dangerous for the future o f Africa.
Some are ideologically disoriented and think joining rebel groups crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe is the answer. But imagine if this huge populace is educated, informed and ideologically oriented to a higher purpose in life, dignity, and self-confidence for a bright future. It will spark unimaginable innovation, and creativity that history books will be submerged with prosperity in Africa that has never existed in the history of mankind.
However, even though our target audience is young people, true excellence is achieved through synergy. We, therefore, call on governments, private sectors, and civil society organizations to truly engage in the transformation of young people not in excellent rhetoric but in a real commitment to a new generation of young leaders full of hope, dignity, and prosperity.
What progress has the platform made so far?
We have mentored directly and indirectly over 2,000 young leaders across Africa with high level training in diplomacy, leadership, entrepreneurship, and peace-building. We have hosted Ambassadors and career diplomats, ministers, Members of Parliament, Chief Executive Officers, and Executives of civil society organisations to facilitate these workshops and networking webinars.
We established an incubation platform where all young innovators and entrepreneurs from all corners of Africa interact and exchange ideas for innovation. We have successfully created an ecosystem where top government leaders, business and civil society, and young leaders can network and be mentored hence encouraging a bottom-up approach and creating a more formidable force of good to face challenges that Africa faces.
Partnerships with world-renowned institutions like United Nations- Burundi to strengthen peacebuilding initiatives and strengthen strong advocacy for Sustainable Development Goals amongst the young leaders in the East African region.
How can one join African Rebirth?
We have a very transparent system of recruitment. Usually, we announce our applications on websites and social media platforms for the virtual leadership cohorts. The recruitment process has three phases; interviews, orientation and workshops or training. After six weeks of intensive training in leadership, diplomacy, peace-building, and en t repreneurs hip one joins a big platform of AR alumni.
