KEY POINTS
- Applications close April 12, 2026, with the program launching in October.
- Alumni have implemented over 230 reform projects across Africa since 2021.
- The program covers all costs, including accommodation during residential week.
The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation has opened applications for the sixth cohort of its AIG Public Leaders Programme, a fully funded six-month executive education initiative it runs jointly with the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government. The deadline is April 12, 2026. The program kicks off in October.
Since its 2021 launch, the program has moved well past its early ambitions. More than 250 senior public officials from across Africa have completed the training. Alumni have gone on to design and implement over 230 reform projects spanning healthcare, finance, agriculture and education. An internal impact survey found that 62 percent of graduates secured promotions or took on expanded leadership responsibilities after finishing the program.
Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, executive vice-chair of the foundation, said the continent’s institutions need more than policy ideas. “Across Africa, the complexity of public sector challenges demands more than good intentions,” she said. “It requires reformers who understand systems, can navigate institutional realities, and are equipped to implement sustainable change.”
What Participants Actually Do
The curriculum runs through online modules and builds toward an intensive residential week, with all costs including accommodation and meals covered by the foundation. Participants study under Oxford faculty and work through governance challenges including public interest negotiation, digital technology in government, organizational strengthening and integrity in public life.
The program ends with a capstone project. Each participant identifies a real problem inside their own institution and works through it, producing something actionable rather than theoretical. The foundation designed it that way deliberately.
One alumna, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, executive secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, built a secure self-reporting tool that lets survivors of domestic and sexual abuse document incidents privately and preserve evidence safely. The platform is now active.
“Survivors are already accessing support, and the tool ensures that crucial proof is protected until justice can be sought,” Aig-Imoukhuede said.
According to Billionaires Africa, the program initially focused on Nigerian civil servants but has since broadened its reach to qualified public servants across all English-speaking African countries. The foundation’s partnership with Oxford’s Blavatnik School dates to 2017, when it began funding Nigerian students pursuing a Master of Public Policy at the university.
