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.
$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.
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.
More Success Stories
The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
Transforming a Charitable Bank Into a Leader of Social Change
Photo credit: Mariana Ceratti / World Bank
Photo Credit: Kevin Dooley
Leader Testimonial:
Julie-Ellen Acosta, VP, Prototyping and Supply and Operations Chain, Boeing Defense
Photo Credit: Pete Lewis/DFID