Responsible Leadership – The driver of growth in emerging markets

September 1, 2021

Circle
Line

“Good leaders are one of the most important components of growing organizations. Strong leadership requires several elements working in harmony. The right kind of guidance from a leader can help in maximizing output and reach goals while setting new ones.”

Amani Institute launched the Leadership for Growth program in India in November 2019, in the second leg of scaling the program, in November 2019 in partnership with ANDE(Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs). First cohort of the program in India saw participation from 24 senior and middle managers from 15 different small and growing businesses such as Upaya Social Ventures, Villgro, Stanford Seed, Enviu, Sambodhi Research and communication Pvt. Ltd., Samunnati, amongst others. The first module of the program was recently concluded in Bengaluru, it covered various aspects like building self-awareness, understanding nuances of management and leadership and importance of peer to peer learning. Over the next five months, the participants will go on a journey to deep dive into the various concepts of leadership. Some of the participants have already started using some of the tools in their work immediately which shows us the practical value of the program for both organizational and individual development.

This program aims to help nurture a culture of continuous learning and innovating in organizations to help catalyze their growth not just of the organization but also the individuals taking part in the program.

In 2017, Amani Institute launched our own leadership development program called ‘Amani Leadership and Management program for Impact’ now known as ‘Leadership for Growth’ program to address the needs of small and growing businesses in emerging markets. The program combines classroom-based courses, business application, online learning, as well as a strong emphasis on networking for middle and senior managers in small and growing businesses(SGBs).

Since its inception, the program has seen participation from 130 middle and senior managers from 50 small and growing businesses in East Africa. The program was specifically designed to create value for both the organization and the individuals. Of the 50+ companies that participated in East Africa, on average the companies saw growth of more than 20%. Our work in East Africa taught us some valuable lessons which have helped us to improve the program. 

As a result of a successful first leg of the program in East Africa, in September 2019, Amani Institute was declared the winner of the Argidius-ANDE talent challenge and won a grant to support scaling up the program to other emerging markets such as India and Brazil. 

In the next stage of scaling the program, Amani Institute will take the program to Brazil in the early part of 2020 and program in Brazil will be called as AGE (Acelerando Gestores para Escalar) and the program will run in the Portuguese language.