“One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.” – Abraham Maslow

When I saw the call for applications for the NextGen program, I was at a point where I felt almost stuck in terms of my career path. I had just done about a year in my role as administrative assistant which taught me a lot about myself. I could see a lot of problems and I could equally see a lot of opportunity those problems brought however, I had no idea how to start to solve those problems or which direction to go because I was in a role which gave me eagle eye view of the business. Fast forward some few weeks into the year 2020 where countries were on lockdown and businesses were crumbling, a good friend shared with me the AFG NextGen training program link which I decided to have a look at. Seeing the scope of the program was an eureka moment for me, because it was a training program to provide me with key skillsets I need to become a better problem-solver and provide business solutions to African businesses looking to grow and become globally competitive. I loved that, I went through the application process and here I am today, part of the 2nd cohort of AFG’s NextGen program.

The NextGen program is a yearlong business analyst training program that seeks to better the talent pool of young Africans and equip them to become top business analysts. Through this program, I have been privy to learn so much about the consulting industry and most importantly providing business solutions. I have received a wealth of knowledge and experience through the trainings and have been staffed on real-life missions for clients. We call all client work “missions”; “because project is just too boring and we are on a mission to deliver the best solutions to our clients”, I heard Rasheeda say one time during our call and that has stuck with me. I wake up every day, knowing that I am on a mission to provide a solution to the next multi-billion-dollar African business.

So far, this experience has been transformational. Though fast paced and intense at times, I am garnering a myriad of experiences and lessons that are fueling my passions to contribute to the development of my skills and the African continent, one business solution at a time.

The AFG team has been very supportive and they are a big family looking to achieve great things for this continent, they stand by their values are very focused in the delivery of their vision, mission and goals. One week into starting my training program, I lost my dad to cancer and I thought I had to figure out a way to do the training and keep up because it was just 1 week into my 2 week in-person training before we transition to virtual training. I was worried I had inconvenienced the team and my work, however the support I received was genuine and kind, that showed me I had joined a good place and it’s been a wonderful journey of growth so far. I love the feedback culture and I’m looking to learning so much more.

I’m sure you’d assume I’ve been with AFG for about a year or more, however I’m only 4 months into this program. The experience, knowledge and support through feedback I have received have been no short of transformational. I’ve been thrown out of my comfort zone and I literally feel the growth.