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Apply to join WE lead

Applications for WE lead are currently paused

As we reflect on our first 5 years, and 100 fellows, we have taken the decision to intentionally pause as we come together in early 2026 as a community to chart our way forwards.
WE Africa’s purpose is to put women leaders in Africa at the heart of transforming the environmental movement through inclusive, collective leadership. WE Africa was born through our frustration that the joint crises of biodiversity loss and the climate emergency also reflect a crisis and lack of diversity in leadership that needs urgent attention.

WE lead is our 12-month annual leadership experience for women environmental leaders in Africa. The program has been designed by leadership experts and co-created with our WE Africa fellows since 2021 and is grounded in our pillars of personal leadership, wellbeing, relationships for collaboration and peacebuilding, visibility for impact and radical imagination. On graduating from the WE lead experience the WE Africa fellows join our WE move community, which is as our path to scale our impact through collective action and paying it forward.

What the WE lead Program offers:

  1. Membership in a community of passionate, experienced African women who are some of the most senior leaders in the environmental sector today.
  2. Access to twelve months of 1:1 leadership coaching
  3. An opportunity to create a new leadership vision for yourself and to pursue personalized leadership development activities to realize that vision.
  4. Weekly two hour online sessions designed to complement your work
  5. Two in-person retreats for intensive community-building and personal and collective growth
To learn more about WE Africa’s yearlong transformative leadership journey, please take some time to review our program Road Map, see our current Fellows and watch this watch this video from our Fellows about WE Africa.

WE Africa’s Leadership Program is for you if you find yourself thinking…

“I am so isolated in my environmental work and wish I could find a community to support me.”
“I have been running an organization for years, but feel that I am missing key leadership skills that would make me a more inclusive, collaborative, effective leader.”
“I feel that I have lost my sense of who I am and what I believe in. I’m tired and I don’t know how to get my energy back.”
“How do I help keep myself and my team healthy and happy in such an intense, high-stress field?”
“I love my organization but it may be time for me to move on to other work. How do I ensure my organization will outlast me?”
“We could get so much further if we could just trust each other and share ideas and resources. Where can I find leaders like me who want to help each other?”
“I have a vision that the future leaders of my organization will be mostly African and half of them will be women. How do I make that happen?”

Eligibility Criteria

WE lead is for women who meet the following criteria:

  • African nationals, current citizens of a country in Africa, or those who have had permanent residency in Africa for a minimum of 15 years.
  • A minimum of 8 years of experience working in the environmental space in government, NGO, or private sector in Africa including at least 3 years serving in a senior leadership role*.
  • A commitment to investing in your personal growth and participation for the full 12-month program.
  • A record of mentorship and desire to support future environmental leaders
  • Access to reliable internet.
  • Ability to manage your calendar to attend one 2 hour online session each week at a set time, as well as 1 hour coaching sessions every 2-3 weeks as agreed on with your coach.
  • Support and buy-in from your organisation or direct report, if necessary to enable your full participation in the different aspects of the programme.
  • A commitment to contribute USD $500 as a registration fee towards the cost of the program and  approximately $1500 towards your travel to retreats (all fellows are equally sponsored  for their participation to the value of $11, 500/ per person) **

*If you do not meet the requirements from the second point above, you may provide an explanation in the application below about why you believe you are eligible.

** The WE Africa Xolelwa Hlalu Scholarship Fund provides a limited number of registration and travel scholarships. These are assessed on a case by case basis according to need.

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