Case Study: The African Futures Academy
From futures literacy to a founder-support system for Africa’s new economy. The African Futures Academy began as an experiment in helping young Africans see themselves as authors of the future, not simply recipients of futures designed elsewhere. Through learning experiences, public conversations and the Awesome Africans series, I explored how futures thinking, identity, ethical imagination and African role models could strengthen agency and expand what young people believed was possible.
The work revealed a deeper challenge. imagination and future literacy are essential, but they are not enough. Emerging founders also need practical support to test ideas, build viable ventures, access markets and capital, and sustain themselves through the realities of building. The Academy is now informing the design of a more joined-up support system for founders creating Africa’s next economy.
