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Article Title:
Navigating Newness: Building Leadership Capacity To Master The Entrepreneurial Terrain In Africa
by Prof. Keith Straughan, PhD

Abstract:
The paper addresses the challenges of capacity building initiatives to develop future-ready leaders to enable and sustain Africa?s innovation ambitions. An important distinction is drawn between skills development and capacity building which is then used to identify the types of initiatives often lacking in traditional approaches. Attention is given to the significance of leadership attitudes and behaviours. A variety of complications with the competence-capacity model are identified and potential mitigations suggested. Such mitigations are essential to the task of building sustainable leadership capacity. The NESTA model of the innovation ecosystem is adapted to illustrate how the resourceful leader could affect sustainable and impactful innovation. Finally, the paper highlights the connection between the demographic, talent and entrepreneurial dividends awaiting the Continent through intentional capacity building initiatives.

Keywords: Capacity building. Leadership development. Innovation. Talent dividend. Entrepreneurship

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