Co-Creating a New Engagement Strategy for Marginalized Youth in Africa
Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide is one of the largest global NGOs dedicated to addressing fundamental social and economic challenges of young people. The 121-country network is powered by 400,000 volunteers from all sectors of society, reaching 10.2 million youth globally. In 2010, after the resignation of the JA Africa regional leader, JA Worldwide's CEO found himself thrust into the role of acting African president and a myriad of strategic challenges. In addition to a lack of relevant programming to meet the changing needs of Africa’s youth, there were issues around inadequate fundraising strategies at the regional and country level, and a lack of comprehensive public/private partnerships to drive regional impact. Furthermore, overall donor confidence in the region was waning based on inconsistent impact reporting. Another major obstacle that stood in the way of the region’s success was that there were eighteen regional affiliates all doing business their own way, making it difficult to harness the power of the region as a whole.
Crossland partnered with JA’s CEO to define JA Africa’s value to the region by gaining an understanding of the educational needs of Africa’s youth, the donor and competitive landscapes, and the current “health” of each JA Africa Member Nation. By convening fifty country leaders
representing eighteen countries to co-create a new future for JA Africa, Crossland surfaced both the challenges and opportunities to redefining JA Africa’s strategy. The two-and-a-half-year process resulted in the development of a new strategy and a new set of regional priorities aligned to JA Worldwide; a new operational plan; the successful hiring of a new JA Africa president; and a recommitted board.
$2.6M in New Funding to Develop Programming
Crossland played a primary role in the search for and onboarding of the new JA Africa president. Serving as the new president’s trusted advisor and partner, we made it possible for the incoming leader to gain traction early and start making changes quickly. Crossland helped the president build upon the robust regional strategy already developed. As a result, more than $2.6M in new funding was secured to develop more pilot programming for marginalized youth and board giving increased. Since then, the new JA Africa president has successfully built several public/private sector partnerships with well-recognized organizations, such as UNDP, Barclays, Bechtel, and Citi, and has become a part of the African World Economic Forum, as well. After four years, we continue to be a trusted advisor to JA Africa and support numerous initiatives and opportunities.
Leader Testimonial
Chinwe Effiong, President, Junior Achievement Africa
"When I joined Junior Achievement as President of JA Africa, having Crossland as a partner was incredibly helpful. I was able to build capacity—understand the players, the culture, and the history of past discussions—so much faster.
Crossland made the transition smooth. I felt like I could jump in and focus on the big stuff right away because the foundation was so clear.
The challenge in my first year could have been figuring out what the gaps were in the organization; but Crossland provided me with access to and insights about a host of presentations, focus groups, and discussions across the region. They helped me quickly identify and understand how the donor landscape was changing, the need to reach out-of-school, marginalized youth, improve our content, and focus on our systems. I was so much more efficient with their support.
Crossland’s personal touch makes a huge difference. I believe they are personally invested in my success and the success of JA Africa. Long after the scope of work was completed, I am still receiving coaching. This has been so important for me. The commitment and personal touch is very unusual—in a good way. It’s a real strength."
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