By Boris Esono Nwenfor
YAOUNDE, PAV – The 2026 Executive and Strategic Leadership Programme (ESLP) has ended in Yaoundé with a call for senior leaders to build organisations anchored in trust, integrity, collaboration and sustainable institutional structures.
The two-day residential programme, which closed on Wednesday 9 September, brought together about 20 executives and senior managers from public, private and civil society organisations for intensive discussions on leadership and organisational effectiveness.
Organised by the Nkafu Policy Institute, a think tank of the Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation, the programme examined the challenges facing leaders as organisations navigate economic uncertainty, rapid technological change, limited resources and increasingly complex operating environments.
The programme drew on the Nkafu Policy Institute’s 14 years of institutional leadership and engagement with public, private and civil society organisations across Central Africa and beyond.
Dr Julienne Mesumbe, Deputy Director of the Nkafu Policy Institute, described the two days as an opportunity for participants to examine both internal and external factors affecting organisational performance.
“These have been two exceptional days,” Dr Julienne Mesumbe said. “We are leaving today really satisfied because we’ve been able to equip participants with tools and strategies for addressing leadership challenges.
She said one of the important lessons from the programme was that challenges that initially appeared to be structural were sometimes actually adaptive challenges requiring leaders to change their approach.
The cohort included leaders ranging from middle-management positions to chief executives and organisation owners. Dr Julienne Mesumbe said participants were leaving with practical experience gained not only from facilitators but also through exchanges with their peers.
The objective, she said, was to help leaders build sustainable teams capable of supporting the organisations they lead. “We are really having a feeling of satisfaction of having contributed to putting in place that dynamism in young and experienced leaders,” she said, adding that the ultimate goal was for participants to create change through themselves, the people they lead and their organisations.
Dr Julienne Mesumbe identified trust and integrity as among the foundations of sustainable and inspirational leadership. “Trust and integrity in a leader are really one of the key aspects for a successful and sustainable organisation,” she said.
Partnerships as a leadership tool
The final day also placed emphasis on partnerships and collaboration as tools for strengthening institutions and expanding their impact. Esther Omam of Reach Out Cameroon, one of the facilitators, urged participants to return to their organisations and put the lessons from the programme into practice.
She said the discussions had focused on strategic leadership, partnerships and collaboration, including how organisations could assess their own strengths and weaknesses before entering into partnerships.
Participants were introduced to practical approaches for defining roles, establishing decision-making mechanisms, identifying resources and putting conflict-resolution systems in place.
But Omam stressed that organisations should not seek partnerships simply because they face difficulties. “You cannot engage in or go for a partnership or collaboration when you do not know what the problem is,” she said.
She encouraged leaders to become “bridge builders” who can bring organisations and stakeholders together around clearly defined objectives. For partnerships to work, she said, organisations must share values, understand their respective roles and establish systems that allow collaboration to produce meaningful results.
Sustainability beyond individuals
For participants from civil society organisations, the programme’s focus on institutional sustainability was particularly relevant. Aleatanu Noela, Coordinator at Lead Child Africa, said the two days had provided lessons on leadership, organisational structures, partnerships and values.
Her key takeaway was that organisations must be ambitious while simultaneously developing the structures and policies required to achieve their goals. She said leaders must also remain connected to the communities their organisations serve, even as their institutions grow.
Participants were encouraged to think beyond immediate projects and consider the systems, values and partnerships required to build organisations capable of surviving leadership transitions and changing circumstances.
Modeste Gatcho, another participant, said African institutions needed to place greater emphasis on values while encouraging leaders to remain humble, ethical and adaptable. He thanked the Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation and the Nkafu Policy Institute for providing a platform for leaders to exchange ideas and reflect on the future of their organisations.
About the Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation
The Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation was established to catalyse Africa’s economic transformation by focusing on social entrepreneurship, science and technology innovation, public health, and progressive policies that create economic opportunities for all. Foretia Foundation partners with local governments, policymakers, private enterprises, civil society organisations, and development partners to expand resources available to entrepreneurs, farmers and small business owners, aimed at improving individual livelihoods.
About the Nkafu Policy Institute
The Nkafu Policy Institute is an African think tank with a mission to provide independent, in-depth, and insightful policy recommendations that enable all Africans to prosper in free, fair, democratic, and sustainable economies. The Institute’s team of analysts, experts, and researchers works on governance and democracy, health and education, peace and security, science and technology, and economic policy.
