The Ashinaga Africa Initiative is a leadership program that enables scholars to gain a wide range of skills and experiences. One of the various ways AAI Scholars develop their professional skills is by completing internships during their undergraduate studies, ideally in a Sub-Saharan African country. However, the impact of Covid-19 travel restrictions and safety measures have made it impossible for many AAI Scholars to travel and pursue in-person internships. As a response, the Professional and Network Development (PND) team at Ashinaga encouraged and supported the AAI Scholars to come up with alternatives to work on their professional development. George, the PND manager, says, ‘’We had to find professional development alternatives for the AAI Scholars such as remote internships, an internship in the country of study, online courses, and industry/company research or designing an Ashinaga proposal research project.”
Among the AAI Scholars who had to adapt to the changes brought by the Covid-19 pandemic is Emmanuel, an AAI Graduate from Uganda. When the Covid-19 pandemic started, Emmanuel was pursuing an undergraduate degree in Global Business at Akita International University in Japan. Emmanuel was looking forward to his internship at Roger's Investment Advisors, an asset management firm located in Tokyo that invests Japanese capital into hedge funds abroad. ‘‘Due to Covid-19, my internship had to be online,” he says. “Doing an online internship deprived me of an opportunity to experience the office work environment. I was looking forward to meeting the employees at Roger’s Investment Advisors firm. The opportunity of working and connecting with experts at an award-winning financial advisory firm in the finance world would have been an unmatched experience. On the other hand, the internship Coordinator always endeavored to find time for a Zoom call every day in the event the interns needed some guidance on an assigned task.’’
During his internship, Emmanuel’s main task was to obtain, analyze, and report performance data, with an emphasis on Net Asset Value returns, from over 4,000 hedge funds in Developed and Emerging Markets, in order to guide the firm’s investment decisions. ‘‘I had access to world-class digital tools and software in the finance world which helped me do my job effectively in this fast-paced industry,’’ he says.
According to Emmanuel, the experience helped to shape his career interests and to develop his data analysis, research, and communication skills. In response to the unpredictable changes brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, he also learned to be flexible, to drive his own learning, and to take more initiative to connect with and learn about the world of finance. Emmanuel adds that the support he received from PND was instrumental in finding and completing the internship: ‘‘I received feedback on my resume, attended various professional development sessions, and received one-on-one mentorship.’’
Emmanuel continues to be driven by his inquisitiveness and curiosity about the world, especially technology and finance. His kokorozashi is to leverage machine learning and technology in general to address the challenges that Uganda faces. ‘‘It is very hard for people to get access to loans in Uganda,”he says. “I am interested in creating software that can calculate the financial risk of loans, collect the data, and then create an interest rate that fits the individual, as opposed to having a fixed rate for everyone, which limits who gets to have their loans approved.’’
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Ashinaga Uk, with some support from Ashinaga based in Japan is happy to offer support to Tlalane, one of the Ashinaga Africa Initiative Scholars from Lesotho, is currently studying law at the University of Edinburgh. Over the past summer, she completed an internship in South Africa with the TEARS Foundation, which focuses on supporting victims and survivors of gender-based violence and sexual assault. According to Human Rights Watch, the rate of sexual violence in South Africa is among the highest globally. The foundation offers a 24/7 emergency phone line service for victims who need assistance. They also provide the following services: legal advice, referral for counseling, leaving an abusive situation, finding shelters for victims, guidance on how to apply for protection orders, case follow-ups with the police, referral for court support, as well as education, and raising awareness about abuse and sexual assault. While the foundation is based in Sandton, Gauteng, it aids victims all over South Africa, regardless of their location.
Tlalane joined as an Interventions Assistant Intern, working with the main team responsible for receiving calls and providing firsthand assistance to the victims. Her tasks varied depending on the victim’s case. Her duties included providing legal advice to victims of abuse and sexual assault. When her expertise was not sufficient to support the caller, she would refer them to the pro bono lawyers working for the foundation. She also played a crucial role in listening to victims who needed to talk, directing those in need to counselors. When needed, she placed calls to police stations to follow up on cases involving victims who had been in touch with the foundation. She had the opportunity to attend events focused on raising awareness about gender-based violence and sexual assault with her team. One of the most complex parts of her job was interacting with people suffering from mental health issues.
Tlalane’s work routine varied on a day-to-day basis. She placed calls to victims who had dialed the emergency number the previous night in the mornings. Depending on their situation, she would open new case files for them. She would be responsible for some cases, but she could always rely on her team for support depending on the issue. Her main contribution to the organization was through her legal knowledge. She also helped victims who could not communicate in English, but only in Sesotho, Setswana, or Sepedi. As no one in the organization was proficient in these languages before her arrival, she was essential to the team when dealing with these specific languages.
Since Tlalane is not a South African citizen and her studies were not in South Africa, she faced numerous challenges. Not being familiar with the legal system in the country, it was hard for her to interpret South African law, having studied law in Edinburgh. While the two jurisdictions are both Common Law and have similarities, the Scottish law regarding sexual assault that she is familiar with differs significantly from legislation in South Africa. However, Tlalane took this opportunity to learn more about South African law. She had to research and discuss different aspects of the law with her colleagues to overcome this knowledge gap. Another challenge was referring various victims to the proper facilities. As a Mosotho, she was not aware of the facilities and services for victims available in South Africa, which contrasts with Lesotho’s lack of support and assistance for victims of sexual assaults. Her motivation to learn and help the victims pushed her to research these resources thoroughly and always provide the best possible assistance.
Tlalane had various take-aways from this internship. Her main one was the importance of adopting a solution-based attitude. At times one focuses on overanalyzing the problem. While it is essential to understand the issues, finding an effective viable solution is critical. As Tlalane’s role required a problem-solver mindset, she knew that her work directly impacted people’s lives. She improved her communication skills significantly, as she constantly had to communicate with various stakeholders, in different situations, with diverse backgrounds and unique views. While ensuring that she learned to communicate appropriately, she developed her professional capacity as she worked in an office setting.
Lastly, she learned how to network. During the events they attended, Tlalane had the opportunity to connect with people on behalf of the organization and met individuals that will be instrumental in her future career.
The internship has allowed her to reflect on her plans after graduation. Her work with the foundation re-ignited her motivation to help sexual assault victims, especially in her home country, Lesotho. While her Ashinaga Proposal, which focuses on assisting sexual assault victims in Lesotho, is still at the research stage, she is more determined to turn it into reality. Tlalane always thought of graduating and getting straight into practicing law, and now she is considering obtaining a master’s in human rights law. She is also evaluating whether she can start practicing law while working on her personal project in Lesotho. She is looking into volunteering with organizations such as the Rape Crisis Center while completing her degree. This experience has provided her with a variety of skills. One of these is the ability to think about solutions critically, which will be fundamental when tackling the implementation of her Ashinaga Proposal in her home country.
Ashianga Proposal: The Ashinaga Proposal is a compulsory exercise through which AAI Candidates and Scholars develop the skills required to identify and solve real-world problems, preparing them to return and contribute to sub-Saharan Africa. Scholars will develop valuable transferable competencies for their personal, academic, and professional life. For a detailed program structure, please refer here.
AAI Scholars Kundai and Samuel made the most of their experience with Arkray.Inc Japan
The Ashinaga Africa Initiative (AAI) is an international leadership program that cultivates the next generation of leaders to contribute to the development of sub-Saharan Africa.
One of the ways AAI Scholars develop their leadership skills are by completing internships during their undergraduate studies. In summer 2021, we had a chance to interview Kundai and Samuel, two AAI Scholars who completed their summer internship with Arkray Inc. Japan, a Healthcare and medical device manufacturing company located in Kyoto, Japan. Arkray’s vision is to contribute to the well-being of people around the world through technology. Arkray conducts research, develops, manufactures, distributes, and provides after-sales services for clinical testing instruments, reagents, and data management systems used for diagnosis, treatment, and medical examinations.
Kundai is an AAI Scholar from Zimbabwe who is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering. His internship with Arkray taught him a range of skills like negotiation, communication, and teamwork. Kundai was responsible for finding distributors in African markets and promoting product awareness development in Africa. In addition, the project allowed him to meet with major stakeholders in the medical field in Africa and leading figures such as Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Japan.
In Kundai’s own words: “This has been one of the most exciting experiences for me. It was more than just an internship. I built strong connections and fell in love with Japan. I am very grateful for Ashinaga and Arkray for the opportunity to learn and grow.”
Samuel is from Rwanda. He started his internship with Arkray to learn more about the Japanese work culture. In addition to applying his skills to real-world problems, Samuel expanded his network and learned to communicate effectively in professional settings.
During his internship with Arkray, Samuel managed social media campaigns for a medical device. His projects included market research and content creation. As a result, he was able to apply his knowledge, strengthen his existing skills and develop new ones. For instance, Samuel was responsible for a new video project that included scripting, shooting, and video editing. According to Samuel: “This internship allowed me to work on diverse projects and
develop various skills. But above all, I learned about the work culture in Japan and connected with my colleagues beyond our work hours”.
Samuel and Kundai highlighted the importance of balancing hard and soft skills in the workplace. When we asked them what advice they would give to aspiring AAI scholars, Samuel said, ” It is essential to invest in creating meaningful connections with your colleagues. Beyond working on the same projects, try to learn more about them and try to spend time with the outside of work”.
During the presentation, Mr Yoshinaga, a representative from Arkray, shared his appreciation for Kundai and Samuel’s hard work and contributions to the company, adding that he looks forward to working with more AAI Scholars in the future. Ashinaga is proud to see talented AAI Scholars like Samuel and Kundai progress in their career paths while developing new skills. Arkray shares their commitment to continue collaborating and creating more opportunities for learning and growth for scholars.
We want to show our sincere appreciation for the generous support you have shown us to make this internship possible.
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Thanks to all who supported this project through GlobalGiving, we are happy to announce that we have launched a new program that offers graduates from our Ashinaga Africa Initiative program a grant of 3,000 $ annual grant for postgraduate study in top-tier universities in Sub-Saharan Africa. There will be ten scholarships available each year starting August 17th, 2021. On September 16th, the Graduates and Alumni Team organized a webinar to share more details about the program and hear stories from guests with postgraduate experience on the continent.
AAI Scholars and Graduates got the chance to hear from our honorary guest, Professor Miriam Were. Professor Were holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Public Health degrees from Johns Hopkins University in the USA. She is also a former Chancellor of Moi University, Co-Founder of UZIMA Foundation-Africa, and an Ashinaga Kenjin-Tatsujin Council member.
Professor Were started her speech with the two main reasons she believes a master’s degree is essential on the continent. The first is that graduate students get to rub shoulders with those who have great expertise in their chosen areas of specialization. The second is the opportunity to focus on a local place of interest and identify ways to contribute to its development.
Professor Were reminded the AAI Graduates and Scholars that they had the unique privilege to undergo their undergraduate degrees abroad and gained excellent exposure to the world. In addition to the international outlook, the Ashinaga Masters in Africa offers its Scholars an even more unique opportunity to develop locally focused skills and complement those they developed abroad to fit the realities of the sub-Saharan African region.
According to Professor Were, through AMIA, AAI Graduates will be able to identify the problems related to their areas of interest and the expertise they need to solve them. Professor Were added that a Master’s program in Africa would allow the AAI Scholars and Graduates to develop a rich professional network back home and explore employment opportunities to ease their entry into the African job market.
Besides Professor Were’s speech, the AAI Scholars and Graduates heard testimonies from George Ampratwum and Suzan Kilamile. George is the Professional Network Development Team manager at Ashinaga. He has a wealth of experience in career development on the continent. He received a master’s degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of Ghana and then an MBA from the African Leadership University School of Business. In addition to George, The AAI Graduates and Scholars heard from fellow AAI Graduate Suzan Kilamile. Suzan is currently pursuing her master’s in Physiology at Muhimbili University in Dar Es Salaam. In parallel with her studies, she works as a tutorial assistant in Physiology at the Christian Medical University in Kilimanjaro. Besides learning more about the local Physiological field, Suzan highlighted how the master’s program helped her meet more Physiologists, expand her network in Tanzania and expose her to new opportunities.
Professor Were, George, and Suzan all emphasized that AMIA offers AAI Graduates and Scholars an unparalleled opportunity to develop skills relevant to their countries. Such as building rich local networks and exploring professional opportunities to make significant contributions that will improve the quality of life in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Apollo is an AAI Scholar from Uganda. Due to COVID-related travel restrictions, he wasn’t able to come to Japan to start his university degree in person. This has not discouraged him to be proactive and use his time in Uganda to gain experience. He took on an internship with the Wakiso District Local Government and later participated in another online program called BuildforSDG2020. Additionally, he attended an entrepreneurship camp called the Swiss Re Start-Up Academy hosted by Swiss Re-insurance company, Aiducation International, and Junior Achievement Uganda. Apollo has also been very involved with the Nansana Cleaning Club.
He told us a little bit about the Swiss Re Start-Up Academy;
“This was an interactive program for young entrepreneurs to develop business plans for our start-up ideas. We were offered lectures and mentoring on topics of pitching a start-up in front of investors, identifying customer needs, solutions, and unique selling points, success factor business model, marketing and market analysis, sales, basics of book-keeping, negotiating, influencing skills, and teamwork. For my group, our idea was ‘Comfort Sanitary Pads’ which is a business idea of providing reusable sanitary pads for school-going children in Northern Uganda.
Comfort Sanitary pads come to avail reusable sanitary pads accompanied with anti-bacterial wash with a lower annual cumulative cost. A pack of 2 pads will cost 6000 Ugandan shillings and will take them for a year compared to the current one-time disposable pads of 3000 shillings.”
After attending this camp, Apollo put his entrepreneurship skills to the test and submit the idea to the UNICEF Uganda Innovation Fund Challenge.
Apollo and his teammates participating in the Swiss Re Start-Up Academy.
The Nansana Cleaning Club was first established by the fifth cohort of AAI Scholars as a community initiative to improve Nanasana’s hygiene and cleanness standards. Apollo has tried to carry on the legacy of the club, especially during the pandemic, when sanitation is central to stopping the spread of COVID-19. He says;
“The club has now spent two years in existence. As a club, we hold monthly cleaning vigils at different places within Nansana every second last Saturday of the month and periodically conduct sanitation clinics to raise awareness about the importance of a clean environment. Some members have volunteered to check the temperature of people entering marketplaces using temperature guns and also ensuring they wash their hands in these COVID times. The club has now secured partnerships with local NGOs like the Matovu Foundation and Uganda Pioneers Association.”
Though he may not be able to fly to Japan to attend university yet, his work for the community is not going unnoticed. Apollo has been recognized for his work with the Cleaning Club. He was named on 25 Under 25: Leaders Changing the Game 2020. Apollo also won the Samsung Hidden Eco-Hero Award 2020, selected as the26th Eco-Generation Regional Ambassador for Uganda, and is currently enrolled in the 2021 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program.
Apollo’s goals after getting to Japan include maintaining a high GPA, mastering Japanese, undertaking multiple internships, gaining multiple leadership experiences, and eventually going to graduate school.
Ashinaga is thrilled to see Apollo working for his local community already, and we cannot wait to welcome him to Japan.
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