Woman Celebrates Becoming 1st Female to Be Appointed CEO of African Leadership Academy
- Bilha Ndirangu becomes the first woman and also Kenyan to lead the prestigious school and also the first non-founder
- Before her appointment, she was CEO of African Talking (AT), a pan-African company supporting software developers
- The new ALA CEO said Africa has opportunities and untapped potential in the youth and it was time to raise leaders who will claim a stake at the big table
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A Kenyan woman has succeeded Chris Bradford, one of the founders of Africa Leadership Academy (ALA), as the institution's Chief Executive Officer.
Source: Twitter
Bilha Ndirangu becomes the first woman and Kenyan to lead the prestigious pre-university school and also the first non-founder to hold the position.
Bilha receives high praise
The new head of the South African based academy was praised by Board of Trustees chair Khumo Shongwe.
He said Bilha's experience in building a pan-African company and working with leaders across the continent prepared her to lead the school.
Bihla's experience
Before her appointment, Bilha was the CEO of African Talking (AT), a pan-African company supporting software developers.
She has been credited with growing the company from eight to over 100 employees, and taking it to over 20 African markets.
Bilha is also reported to have conceptualised and oversaw the initial implementation of the Equity Foundation's Wings to Fly Scholarship during her role as Senior Project Manager of Dalberg Global Development.
Regarding her new role, Bilha noted Africa has opportunities and untapped potential in the youth, adding with technology - it is the right time to raise leaders and global shapers from the continent.
“Coming back to Africa was informed by what I saw then, that is even clearer now; the need for Africa to embrace her true identity and leverage our competitive advantage at the global stage," she said.
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She stated ALA offers the right education for African children and is positive about expanding its education model across the continent.
Bilha, a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Havard Business School, was appointed on June 15 after a diligent exercise that identified her as one who embodies the school's values.
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Source: Briefly News
Maryn Blignaut (Human-Interest HOD) Maryn Blignaut is the Human Interest manager and feature writer. She holds a BA degree in Communication Science, which she obtained from the University of South Africa in 2016. She joined the Briefly - South African News team shortly after graduating and has over six years of experience in the journalism field. Maryn passed the AFP Digital Investigation Techniques course (Google News Initiative), as well as a set of trainings for journalists by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at: maryn.blignaut@briefly.co.za
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
