QuestPro Leadership Academy: Second Cohort Graduates Ready to Lead Boldly

QuestPro Women Foundation has proudly concluded the second cohort of the Moving Africa Leadership Academy for African LBTIQ women; a rigorous, values-driven program designed to strengthen feminist leaders who are building safer, freer futures across the continent. Over several intensive days, participants deepened skills across five core pillars: Safety & Security, Feminist Leadership, Governance & Accountability, Organizational Strengthening, and Belonging & Values Clarification. What emerged was more than a training, it was a transformative community of practice grounded in courage, care, and clarity of purpose.

What We Set Out to Do
The Academy’s aim is simple and ambitious: equip leaders with practical tools to navigate hostile contexts and political clarity to lead with integrity. We blend technical content (risk assessment, governance frameworks, resource systems) with feminist methodologies (collective learning, embodiment, trauma-informed practice), ensuring participants leave with plans they can apply immediately in their organizations and movements.

Each day combined short, high-impact learning sprints with dialogue circles, peer coaching, and reflection. Facilitators used participatory methods, case scenarios drawn from real movement experiences, and creative exercises so participants could test ideas in a supportive environment. The result: learning that sticks because it’s embodied, contextual, and community-rooted.

Pillar Highlights
1) Safety & Security (Digital + Physical)
Participants mapped their threat environments, practiced risk assessment, and built personal and organizational safety plans. Sessions covered device hardening, secure communications, travel safety, event security, and rapid response protocols. The emphasis: collective security because safety grows when teams share practices, information, and care.

2) Feminist Leadership
We examined power, privilege, and positionality, and practiced leadership grounded in shared power, accountability, and care. Leaders explored how to sustain purpose without burnout, how to cultivate intergenerational collaboration, and how to anchor strategy in community needs not donor trends.

3) Governance & Accountability
This track translated values into workable systems: roles and decision-making structures, community feedback loops, conflict and harm processes, board/advisory models, and transparent reporting. Participants left with draft charters or policy outlines to adapt in their contexts.

4) Organizational Strengthening
From mission clarity to resource mobilization and monitoring, learning & adaptation, participants stress-tested their organizational models. They designed small, realistic improvements—like tightening workflows, diversifying income streams, or building team rituals that protect wellbeing—so progress continues after the Academy.

5) Belonging & Values Clarification
Leaders named the values that guide their work and practiced decision-making aligned to those values. We explored belonging as a political and personal need how to build teams and programs where people feel seen, safe, and able to contribute fully. Many participants cited this as the “glue” that makes structures and strategies actually work.

Voices from the Cohort
“This Academy reminded me that leadership isn’t about carrying everything alone. It’s about building systems of care, safety, and accountability. I’m going home clearer, stronger, and ready to scale what works.” — Participant, West Africa

“For the first time, all parts of me—organizer, strategist, artist, human—felt welcome in the same room. That sense of belonging is powerful. It fuels me to lead with courage.” — Participant, East Africa

What Comes Next
Graduation isn’t the finish line; it’s a launch pad. The cohort leaves with:
– Actionable toolkits (security checklists, governance templates, facilitation guides).
– Peer support channels for cross-country troubleshooting and collaboration.
– A clearer theory of change and values compass to steer tough decisions.

And yes,this cohort is stepping into the world to do kick-ass work: safeguarding communities, challenging harmful norms, building resilient organizations, and widening the circle of belonging.

Heartfelt thanks to our facilitators, partners, and the participants, whose brilliance and grit inspire us to keep building. As we celebrate the second cohort, we’re reminded: the future we are after is not only possible;it’s already in motion, carried by leaders who refuse to choose between impact and integrity.
This is only the beginning.