Several Tutu Fellows have been selected for the 2024 cohort of the African Climate Ambassadors Programme. The Africa Climate Ambassador's Programme is a joint initiative of Jacobs Ladder Africa (JLA), the African Leadership Institute, the Climate Action Platform for Africa (CAP-A) and the Africa Centre. The organisations comprise the Africa Climate Action Advocacy Initiative, or ACAAI.
The Africa Climate Ambassador's Programme is a year-long programme and brings together 18 African expert leaders from a wide range of sectors to integrate insights on climate action and affect discourse on the subject in their areas of influence.
The Tutu Fellowship is closely involved with the initiative. To mention just two who providing leadership to the initiative - Bilha Ndirangu is the Co-Founder of Jacobs Ladder and a 2022 Fellow; and, James Mwangi, who is the Founder of CAP-A and a 2009 Fellow. AFLI's involvement leverages the Tutu Fellowship and its network of new leaders for climate action.
A key goal of the inititiative is to effect change by reaching continental leaders from a wide range of sectors and help them integrate insights on climate action opportunities in their respective areas of expertise such as city planning, healthcare, agriculture, education and energy access.
A number of the 2024 cohort are Tutu Fellows:
- Ally Angula - Ally is a 2013 Tutu Fellow and Group Managing Director and Co-Founder Leap Holdings. Leap Holdings is a group of companies involved in the growing of fresh produce, garment manufacturing, and retail in Namibia. She is also a running as an independent candidate for President of Namibia.
- Ndidi Nwuneli - Ndidi is a 2006 Tutu Associate and is the CEO of The ONE Campaign. She has more than two decades years of international development experience, including deep expertise in agriculture and nutrition, social innovation, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and youth development in Africa.
- Simbarashe Mhuriro - Simba is a 2019 Tutu Fellow and the Founder and Managing Director of Oxygen Africa, a Zimbabwean renewable energy development company. He has also played an advisory role as part of the expert working groups on renewable energy, innovation, entrepreneurship, and SME development for Pan African projects run by the African Union Commission, European Union, and World Health Organisation Africa Region.
- Sangu Delle JD - Sangu is a Ghanain and the CEO of Africa Health Holdings, which is based in West Africa. He also serves as Chairman of Golden Palm Investments Corporation ("GPI") and, separately, Sangu is the co-founder of Cleanacwa, which is a nonprofit working in underdeveloped communities in Ghana to make sure that water and sanitation, basic human rights, are provided.
- Serah Makka - Serah is the Executive Director for Africa of The ONE Campaign, where she leads ONE’s advocacy and strategic engagement with key stakeholders and is directly involved in mobilizing climate finance for Africa.
The initial announcement of the programme was made on LinkedIn. A number of Tutu Fellows were also selected for the inaugural year of the Africa Climate Ambassadors Programme in 2023.
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