Fred Swaniker is on a mission to bring better leadership to Africa and the world. He leads the African Leadership Group - an ecosystem of organizations that aims to catalyze a new era of ethical, entrepreneurial African leaders for Africa. Over the past 15 years, he has founded and led African Leadership Academy, African Leadership University, and Sand Technologies (a global technology company that aims to solve hard, big problems utilizing Artificial Intelligence and other advanced technologies). Collectively, these endeavors aim to transform Africa by developing 3 million African leaders by 2035 and enabling them to become problem-solvers and innovators.
Fred previously worked as a McKinsey consultant before earning an MBA from Stanford and becoming an entrepreneur. He has been recognized as one of the top 15 emerging social entrepreneurs in the world by Echoing Green; as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum; as a TED Fellow, and as an Aspen Institute Fellow. He has been honored with doctorate degrees from Macalester College, Middlebury College and Nelson Mandela University. He sits on the boards of the Rhodes Trust (which awards the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University) and and is a member of the International Advisory Board of Waterloo University (Canada). In 2019, Fred was recognized as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. In 2023, Fred was again recognized by Time Magazine with a Time 100 Impact Award.
