By Mary Afolabi | OML Team Member
This quarter saw significant growth and impact across the OML programs in both Africa and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In Africa, the focus was split between high-level leadership transition and grassroots empowerment. The 4th Fellowship Cohort successfully concluded its intensive training, moving into the execution and fundraising phase that culminated in the highly successful OMLA Deal Room. This achievement validated the program's model for creating scalable global impact. Following this, the Fellowship officially concluded with a Graduation Ceremony, honoring 60 Fellows and 74 dedicated Champions from 12 countries as they formally transitioned into the influential Alumni Community.
The grassroots initiative, the OMLA Bootcamp in Ondo State, achieved notable success in addressing the critical skills gap. This decisive action mobilized and trained an impressive cohort of 91 motivated teenagers (56 females, 35 male) in vital skills such as basic ICT, entrepreneurship, baking, and craft making. The intensive, hands-on approach resulted in exceptional, validated metrics: 100% of all participants acquired new skills in their chosen area. Crucially, a remarkable 98.7% of these young leaders now feel confidently equipped to generate a sustainable source of income, underscoring the program’s power to drive economic self-reliance.
Concurrently, the OMLMENA program reached significant scale during its Phase 2 Leadership Challenge. Seventy-two eligible fellows successfully led a region-wide effort that resulted in the recruitment of 1,706 youth champions from 19 countries. Fellows delivered localized content through a blend of joint regional online sessions and country-specific tracks, piloting hybrid engagement in several locations, including Yemen, Sudan, and Tunisia. This large-scale, coordinated effort achieved its objective of learning-transfer, culminating in the certification of 615 champions who are now better equipped to contribute to capacity-building across the MENA region.
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