Swedish Institute Management Programme (SIMP) Africa 2021 for emerging young African Leaders.

Application Deadline:21 March 2021

Are you a changemaker who wants to become part of a network of progressive business leaders? Join the Swedish Institute Management Programme Africa to lead change for responsible leadership and sustainable business practices.

The Swedish Institute Management Programme (SIMP) brings together business leaders who want to succeed in driving change for economically, environmentally and socially sustainable businesses.   

Today’s leaders need a firm understanding of the complexity and unpredictability of current global challenges and opportunities. They are increasingly expected to act responsibly and grow their businesses more sustainably. As a participant of SIMP, you will get access to knowledge and tools that are critical for understanding sustainable and responsible business, and that will help you to become an even better leader for those you work with and for leading change.  

SIMP builds on Sweden’s prominent position in innovation and sustainable business and its connection to the global economy. The programme provides methods, concepts and practical applications from leading experts in the key aspects of sustainability. Through this hands-on approach, you will meet several companies from Sweden and the Eastern Africa region to discuss their sustainability work and explore their challenges. In addition to external experts, SIMP builds on the expertise and extensive experience within the group and creates a strong network between participants, with much time dedicated to peer learning and teambuilding.  

Throughout the programme, you will work on a sustainability challenge in your organisation and apply your learnings to continually develop skills for making a positive business impact. You will formulate the challenge based on the needs of your organisation and local circumstances.  

The programme requires your active participation. Your own work context will be your arena for learning, reflection and application. You will gain knowledge that develops your leadership, understanding that helps your organisation, methods that you can apply directly, and tasks that you can deliver to increase learning and enable immediate application of new knowledge.  

SIMP Africa 2021 runs online and at conference venues* in the respective capital cities between June 2021 –  February 2022. The programme contains coaching, interactive workshops, group tasks and lectures, as well as virtual visits to companies and organisations in Sweden. SIMP is a challenging and interactive programme that demands your active participation and contribution. It is not a series of one-way communicated lectures. 

Requirements

You are welcome to submit your application if you fulfil the following: 

• You aspire to make sustainability an integral part of your business strategy.  
• You are in a leading position within trade, industry or the public sector.  
• You have a mandate to influence the strategy for your organisation.  
• You want to share and build on the competences and knowledge you gain from the programme within your organisation.  
• You are willing to support your fellow participants and share your experience and knowledge with them. 
• You are between 25 and 45 years old (born 1976–1996).  
• You have a good working knowledge of both written and spoken English.
• You have a post secondary education.  
• You are a citizen and resident of Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda or Zambia.  
• You are keen to take part in a highly interactive online course and look forward to connecting digitally.  

Benefit

SIMP will give you: 

• An exclusive suite of workshops, lectures and visits with highly-acclaimed speakers selected specifically for their competence, clarity, and high level of audience engagement. 
• A thorough understanding of the principles of sustainable business with a focus on human rights, climate and the environment, decent working conditions and anti-corruption.  
• A strong set of skills to drive change in your own organisation through responsible leadership. 
• Knowledge to let you work with Design Thinking as a method to develop creative and sustainable solutions to complex problems.  
• A network of leaders who are committed to sustainable business and responsible leadership with whom you will grow and learn from to build lasting business relationships.  
• Insights into business cases for sustainability in Sweden, one of the leading countries in sustainable business practice.  
• And overall, the opportunity to grow and develop in the programme’s focus areas – it is up to you to make the most of the experience and engage to the extent you can.

Programme structure, format and timeline 

SIMP Africa 2021 takes place from June 2021 to February 2022. The programme is mainly focused into three modules which will take place in June, September/October and February 2022. Each module lasts between three to eight weeks and requires approximately one working day per week, including participation in physical meetings at conference venues locally, live online sessions, and engagement with pre-recorded material, group assignments and individual work. In between the modules, you will work on your own sustainability project with the help of expert coaching and group tasks.  

First module (8, 15 and 22 June – full days) is scheduled to take place at conference venues in the capitals of each country. If a physical meeting is not possible because of Covid-19 restrictions in a specific country, the programme will be adapted for that country.

Second module (preliminarily scheduled to eight Thursdays in September and October.) If Covid-19 restrictions allow, the second module could also take place at conference venues together with the SIMP peers in your country. To take part in the programme you must be able to commit to one full day per week during modules. 

SIMP 2021 will be an online programme, where various digital tools and set-ups will give you a unique, varied and interactive learning experience. The digital format of SIMP enables learning to take place over an extended period, allowing time for reflection as well as the opportunity for continuous work, both individually and together with other participants.

The programme consists of the following activities:  

Physical meetings in your country capital 

If the pandemic situation allows participants will be invited to physical meetings at conference venues in the respective capital cities. These full day programmes will consist of live online sessions, group tasks and presentations by participants.  

Online sessions 

Interactive live sessions via our online tools where you will meet the SIMP team, our experts and your fellow participants. In these sessions, you will explore the programme content further with our experts, with a specific focus on questions, reflections, discussions and small group tasks.  

Pre-recorded material 

Expert lectures and discussions that are recorded in advance so that participants can watch/listen when it fits their schedule. You should watch these in preparation for the online live sessions to learn more and explore specific topics before meeting the experts in the online sessions. 

Tasks: In groups and individually 

Group tasks and challenges focused on sustainable business will be reoccurring during the modules to stimulate learning from peers and to test your leadership skills. You will also have individual tasks to complete particularly in responsible leadership. 

Reflection groups 

You will meet digitally in smaller groups to maximise learning, build supportive relationships and gain new ideas and perspectives. 

Your Initiative 

The SIMP Initiative is your individual opportunity to address a sustainability challenge in your organisation. Within the programme, you will identify the challenge to work with, involve your stakeholders and colleagues as appropriate, apply your own expertise and new knowledge, and receive expert coaching to move forward in solving this challenge.  

Costs covered and arranged by Swedish Institute

• Training and content
• Conference facilities if the pandemic situation allows for physical meetings in the capital of each country included in SIMP Africa.

How to Apply:

Create your application online in the application portal. Filling in the application form online takes about 60 min or more and there is no session saving possibility. Kindly have the following ready before starting to fill the application: 

• Passport size photo of yourself  
• Recommendation letter 
• CV  

Kindly note that CV and photo are mandatory. The recommendation letter is optional; however, it will be an added advantage in the evaluation process. A template for the recommendation letter and desired information to be included in it can be found here. 

For any issues regarding the application you can reach out to the recruitment team on simp.africa@business-sweden.se. Please remember to indicate the country you are applying from. 

The applications will be evaluated according to the following selection criteria:  

• The relevance and quality of personal motivation and commitment, and the applicant’s answers in the SIMP application form.  
• A broad assessment of the CV.  
• The general qualifications of the applicant.  
• The business/organisation’s willingness and readiness to work for sustainable business. It is important that your business/organisation is motivated to implement new learnings from the programme as this is a hands-on program.  

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Swedish Institute Management Programme (SIMP) Africa 2021