Ministry of Foreign Affairs joins the field for the development of entrepreneurship in Africa: at the end of the Italian Presidency of the G7, the free Master “African Innovation Leadership” was launched today by Politecnico di Milano, POLIMI GSoM and the E4Impact Foundation

We are seeing the start of a new training course dedicated to managers, entrepreneurs and innovators from six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Tanzania

In the final days of the Italian Presidency of the G7, the “African Innovation Leadership” project has been launched to develop skills and capabilities to support innovation and entrepreneurship on the African continent, with the aim of consolidating important collaborations in the field of science, technology and innovation between Italy and some of the African nations of prime interest for our country. The programme involves the design and delivery of a first-level Master’s degree, funded by the Directorate-General for Global Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and directed by Politecnico di Milano, POLIMI Graduate School of Management and the E4Impact Foundation.

The Master’s degree is aimed at the innovation ecosystems of six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Tanzania) to provide strategic expertise, thus encouraging the development of entrepreneurship among the younger generation and promoting the proactivity of academic institutions and research and innovation centres in these territories.

The Master represents an important joint effort on the part of the actors involved, supported by the Directorate-General for Global Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. “In Africa, innovation for development is a fundamental lever for addressing complex social challenges that are global in their impact, but local in their urgency”, said Professor Emanuela Colombo, Delegate for Science Diplomacy at Politecnico di Milano. “The Master aims to pave the way for a future of social progress and entrepreneurial growth on the continent, encouraging the consolidation of local ecosystems of innovation”, stated Director of the Master, Professor Paola Garrone of Politecnico di Milano.

The Master is aimed at 40 professionals, including innovation managers and entrepreneurs, and is structured with synchronous lessons, both online and in person, experiential activities and residential periods between Italy and Africa. Registration for the Master, which is starting at the end of next April, is open until 15 March 2025. At the end of the 18-month educational course, participants will have to develop a business plan with a high social impact, on topics relevant to their countries, in important sectors such as energy, agri-food, manufacturing or digital. During the Master, the students will be followed by experts and academic tutors and will be able to carry out a training period in person in Milan in November.

“The students will be supported throughout their educational path by experts from both the academic and industrial worlds and, during their time in Milan, they will be able to meet representatives of the Italian entrepreneurial fabric, research centres and innovation poles”, concluded Professor Mauro Mancini, Associate Dean of POLIMI Graduate School of Management.

From January 2025, all related information will be available on the website www.gsom.polimi.it