Making Networks Work

Making Networks Work: Collaboration for Youth Employment Across Africa Hosted by Africa Career Networks, this session tackles a hard truth: with tens of thousands of organizations working on youth development across Africa, impact still lags because collaboration stays fragmented. Three network builders share what actually works, scaling a fellowship network that's placed hundreds of thousands of young people in livelihoods by treating youth as co-leaders, not beneficiaries; growing a single-country program into a continent-spanning advocacy block with real policy influence; and running a large multi-country network through decentralized leadership that trusts the wisdom already inside it. The shared thread: trust is a strategic asset, start local and build outward, solve your partners' problems first and funders need to invest in the ecosystem itself, not just individual programs.