African Management Institute

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African Management Institute

AMI enables ambitious businesses across Africa to thrive. We currently have offices in three countries in Afr Visit https://africanmanagers.org to learn more.

We believe that skilled people build thriving businesses, thriving businesses create quality jobs, and quality jobs drive prosperity and dignity. AMI combines online and mobile tools with in-person workshops and on-the-job practice. Tens of thousands of people have taken our programmes, executives to entry-level workers, in large and small companies across the continent. Follow us on Twitter - - or join our group on LinkedIn. We are also looking for partners. If you'd like to donate, invest or join forces to empower and equip African managers then please get in touch.

21/09/2026

Africa’s SME support ecosystem cannot scale on one funding model alone.

The businesses we support move through different stages of growth, and the investment model needs to evolve with them — from donor-funded support for businesses with limited ability to pay, to SME co-investment, private-sector partnerships and, ultimately, commercial solutions.

Hatch Africa offers one example of what this can look like in practice. As the business expanded across six African markets, it invested in developing its managers. The results included a 30% reduction in missed deadlines, task completion rising from 60% to 80%, and sales growth in 5 of 7 countries.

Africa’s SME support ecosystem cannot scale on one funding model alone.

The businesses we support move through different stages of growth, and the investment model needs to evolve with them, from donor-funded support for businesses with limited ability to pay, to SME co-investment, private-sector partnerships and, ultimately, commercial solutions.

Hatch Africa offers one example of what this can look like in practice. As the business expanded across six African markets, it invested in developing its managers. The results included a 30% reduction in missed deadlines, task completion rising from 60% to 80%, and sales growth in 5 of 7 countries.

The opportunity to deepen impact is to build a more sustainable SME support ecosystem, one that brings together development funding, private-sector partnerships, government investment and increasing SME payments as businesses grow.

Explore this opportunity and the Hatch Africa story in AMI’s 2025 Impact Report. Link in the comments.

18/09/2026

“When people are being equipped to do the best they can and to be the best they can, that is what I am designed for.”

For Carolyne Gathuru, that is what makes AMI’s work deeply personal. As a facilitator, she creates learning experiences that move beyond theory — helping leaders and entrepreneurs build the confidence, skills and mindset to create real change.

One example is the GROW coaching model, where Carolyne puts herself in the shoes of a challenging team member and lets leaders practise coaching through real resistance. Watching the shift happen in real time, from frustration to finding solutions, shows learners what effective coaching can actually look like — and makes it easier to take those lessons back to the workplace.

For Carolyne, the power lies in practical tools that bring real results. And the impact extends beyond the classroom. She sees facilitation as part of a bigger mission: developing the great leaders Africa needs, one learner at a time.

We’re proud to celebrate Carolyne Gathuru, recipient of the 2025 Workplace Facilitator Award, and grateful for the passion, expertise and purpose she brings to the AMI facilitator community.

“We are changing Africa one bit at a time.”

17/09/2026

The leaders with the strongest teams aren't the ones with all the answers. They're the ones who create space for better thinking.

During Leadership Conversations: Building a Culture of Accountability, Caroline Kamau, Change Management Specialist, explored how senior leaders can unintentionally create dependency when every question, decision and solution flows upward. When people constantly seek approval, taking initiative can feel riskier than waiting for direction.

Her insight was simple but powerful: asking “What do you think?” can start to break that cycle. It signals that someone's perspective has value and gives them permission to exercise judgement, contribute ideas and take greater ownership.

This isn't about leaders stepping back from leadership. It's about shifting from being the source of every answer to building the confidence and capability of others to find answers themselves.

The next time someone brings you a problem, resist the instinct to solve it immediately. Ask the question instead. You may be surprised by what your team already knows when you give them permission to think.

Ready to build a culture of real accountability? Read more to understand why your best leaders are getting stuck in 'The Accountability Trap' and how to build a system that actually works. Link in comments.

15/09/2026

The next chapter of SME support is not just about what works — it is about how we scale it.
Over 13 years, evidence has shown that quality SME support can strengthen business performance, create jobs and improve livelihoods.

But lasting impact happens when that evidence shapes the systems around entrepreneurs.
Across Africa, governments, funders and institutions have an opportunity to move beyond fragmented interventions and build stronger ecosystems that enable more businesses to access the support they need to grow.

Our experience has shown that embedding SME support within wider institutional ecosystems can strengthen local ownership, improve coordination and create pathways for sustainable scale.

The opportunity ahead is clear: moving from supporting individual businesses to building systems that help millions more entrepreneurs thrive.

14/09/2026

What if your next growth opportunity isn’t outside your business, but inside it?

For years, Africa imported much of the cement needed to build its roads, homes and cities. Aliko Dangote saw the problem differently. Instead of asking where to import more cement from, he asked what it would take to build the capacity to produce it in Africa. That shift led to factories, supply chains and manufacturing capability being built across the continent.

The lesson goes beyond cement. When growth stalls, leaders often look outward first: hire new talent, bring in external expertise, enter new markets or find another strategy. But sustainable growth can start with a harder question: Are we fully developing the people and capabilities we already have?

Because having talent is not the same as building capability. Managers need the skills to turn talent into stronger ex*****on. Leaders need the ability to create the conditions for people to perform. And businesses need practical systems that turn potential into results.

This is why AMI focuses on building practical leadership and management capability across Africa. We help managers and entrepreneurs develop the skills, tools and confidence to solve problems, strengthen ex*****on and unlock the potential already within their businesses.

The strongest organisations don’t just acquire capability. They build it.

11/09/2026

Africa’s entrepreneurs are not a side story in economic development. They are central to it. In 2025, AMI and our partners supported 27,404 businesses across Africa, helping entrepreneurs build stronger businesses that create jobs, generate revenue and improve livelihoods.

And behind these numbers are real businesses and real people. The stories featured in our 2025 Impact Report show what can happen when entrepreneurs have the capabilities, support and networks to turn ambition into sustainable growth.

The evidence is clear: for every $1 invested, businesses generated $36 in additional revenue, while $7.70 in livelihoods were generated. 51% of those reached were women and 80% were youth. These are not just programme outputs. They are signals of what becomes possible when we invest in Africa’s entrepreneurs.

Africa’s big bet is entrepreneurship. The opportunity is to scale what works.

10/09/2026

Performance reviews don’t build accountability. They expose whether leadership has built it.

Too many organisations treat accountability as something to measure at the end of the quarter, rather than something leaders cultivate every day.

During Leadership Conversations: Building a Culture of Accountability, Caroline Kamau, Change Management Specialist, explored how ownership becomes difficult when people are expected to deliver outcomes without sufficient clarity, authority or room to make decisions. When leaders centralise decisions and punish mistakes, teams can learn to protect themselves rather than take ownership.

Brenda Wakaba, HR Consultant at AMI, emphasised that accountability is shaped through everyday leadership practices: how expectations are set, how feedback is given, how mistakes are handled, and whether leaders create enough trust for people to take responsibility for outcomes.

By the time a performance review arrives, the culture has already been established.

The best organisations don’t wait for formal reviews to create accountability. They build it into the rhythm of leadership itself—through clarity, meaningful delegation, coaching and trust.

The question for leaders isn’t whether your people are accountable. It’s whether you’ve created the conditions for them to be.

Ready to build a culture of real accountability? Read more to understand why your best leaders are getting stuck in 'The Accountability Trap' and how to build a system that actually works. Link in comments.

08/09/2026

What if business support is one of the bigger bets we could make for jobs and livelihoods in Africa?

The evidence on Business Development Support (BDS) is growing. But the conversation is moving beyond whether business support can work to a more important question: what makes it effective, and what will it take to scale what works?

On 22 September, AMI will be in New York with Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), bringing together researchers, funders and ecosystem leaders for a roundtable, “Evidence at a tipping point: Why is business support a big bet for jobs?”

The conversation will feature perspectives from Dean Karlan, Amolo Ng’weno, Harry Devonshire and Rebecca Harrison, examining what the evidence tells us, what distinguishes effective business support, and what it takes to move from promising approaches to impact at scale.

For AMI, this is part of a broader conversation about how we invest in Africa’s entrepreneurs, and how stronger businesses can contribute to more jobs, better livelihoods and inclusive economic opportunity.

The roundtable will be intentionally small to enable a focused discussion. If you’d like to join the conversation, you can express your interest via the link in the comments. Please note that submitting an expression of interest does not guarantee attendance.

07/09/2026

Capital can unlock potential. Capability can help turn it into lasting impact.

The Nairobi Refugee Capital-Plus-Capacity Program has officially kicked off, with sessions held across Kawangware, Mathare, Kayole and Kasarani, bringing together 120 Nairobi-based refugee entrepreneurs.

Implemented by the African Management Institute (AMI) and GiveDirectly Kenya, the programme is delivered in support of our partners, the Livelihood Impact Fund (LIF) and The Agency Fund (TAF), under the Livelihoods Impact Alliance (LIA).

Through AMI’s Micro-Enterprise Accelerator (MEA), participants will build practical business skills to strengthen their enterprises, increase incomes and create jobs within their communities.

The programme is also testing what becomes possible when cash & capability work together, generating evidence that can help shape more effective approaches to economic resilience and livelihood development.

04/09/2026

Better performance doesn’t always require a new strategy. Sometimes, it requires getting more value from what you already have.

When Tim Cook joined Apple in 1998, he didn’t start by chasing the next big innovation. He looked for waste. Inventory was sitting in warehouses for weeks, tying up resources and limiting the business’s ability to move.

The lesson extends far beyond Apple. When performance stalls, leaders often respond with another initiative, strategy or growth plan. But sustainable performance can start by strengthening ex*****on and removing the inefficiencies already inside the business.

That puts managers at the centre. With the right skills, tools and practical frameworks, managers can identify inefficiencies, improve accountability and unlock more value from existing resources.

At AMI, that’s what practical training is designed to do: equip managers with frameworks they can apply immediately to improve how their teams work and perform. Before you build something new, ask: what could we do better with what we already have?

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https://africanmanagers.org/

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