About us

Driving positive change through continental expertise

Future Africa Forum is a platform for thought leadership that consults with organizations which are building a better Africa. We bring together the greatest young African thinkers to research, implement 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 in Nairobi, 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 for work, 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 young 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. This growth has led to partnerships and consultancy projects with organizations that want to engage young leaders around this idea of co-creating the future.

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.

Pandemic proofing Africa

Following on from our policy report ‘Africa beyond Covid-19’, Future Africa Forum was commissioned by Pandemic Action Network to research, convene and advocate for efforts on African pandemic preparedness and response. The overall objective of this effort is to mobilise resources, partnerships and political will toward concrete actions and investments in pandemic preparedness and response and health security interventions on the continent.

Join us

We are always keen to hear from talented African professionals. If you would like to be considered for future vacancies, please submit a CV and covering letter to //futureafricaforum.org/about

Would you like to become one of our research contributors? We are always looking to grow our pool of expert content contributors.

Please use the form on the Contact Us page to request further details.

Future Africa Forum is an independent organisation that has been funded through the generosity of its founder and the support of individuals who have given their time and resources.

For details on how you can partner with Future Africa Forum.