About Us

Amani Means Peace

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Our Vision

A world where people go to work to make a difference

Our most profound problems cross national boundaries, requiring not just interdisciplinary thought but also interlocking experiences to understand them. They call upon problem-solvers to submit their whole selves in the service of creating sustainable change.

About Us - Kenya Class 7

We envision a community of global changemakers – able to operate flexibly and freely wherever they are called to go, living and working in ways that transcend boundaries.

OUR VALUES

Courage

  • To step into the unknown, and into possibility, without having all the answers
  • To hold steady in the face of both the seductions and threats of the status quo
  • To stand up when others can’t (or won’t)

Empathy

  • To see yourself as part of a larger whole
  • To burn for justice
  • To sense common ground when difference threatens

Changemaking

  • To build, not (just) critique
  • To scale the walls that stand in your way
  • To deploy not just skills and knowledge, but all parts of you

Global Mindset

  • To navigate different contexts, locations, and timezones
  • To see the hidden connections between people and ideas, and build new ones
  • To catalyze impact across both perceived and actual boundaries

Vision

  • To see what is not, and ask why not
  • To look beyond your own position and identity to see what you can do
  • To set a new direction, for self, organization/ community, and planet
Ilaina Rabbat and Roshan Paul
When we launched Amani Institute in 2011, we had a bold dream: to offer a new model of higher education, originating in the Global South, for social impact professionals, accessible for people all over the world.
– Roshan Paul and Ilaina Rabbat, Amani Institute Co-Founders
OUR METHODOLOGY

Our approach to learning prioritizes experiential, practical, reflective, group work over academic approaches.

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Learning by doing

Real-World Application

Because learning only creates value when applied, our programs facilitate on-the-job application. Any effective training requires practice and reflection. We focus on experiential methods, to make sure the learning sticks.
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Connecting the dots

Emerging Markets Perspective

While bringing eye-opening insights from emerging markets, our faculty are also experienced impact practitioners who bring real world examples to our trainings.
3
Leading on three levels

The Inner Journey

Any program we design creates value for the organization AND the individual. It’s not an either/or. We focus on the whole person and we ensure they can lead themselves, others and the business.
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Community Building

Network

We ensure peer learning and promote diversity as a tool for inclusion and innovation. Participating in our courses means developing a larger, inspiring, effective network.

We believe that making an impact is hard, and you need to train accordingly for it – like a doctor or Olympic athlete would train.

Amani team
Amani team
OUR FINANCIAL MODEL

A self-sustainable non-profit organiziation

We are a non-profit organization because we aim to keep the price of our top-class quality programs accessible.

We are a financially sustainable social enterprise; the vast majority of our operating expenses are covered through program fees and earned income, by conducting executive programs for universities, foundations, NGOs, and companies.

In the United States, we have 501c3 non-profit status, which allows any philanthropic contributions to be tax-deductible. Philanthropic contributions help us provide more scholarships, launch new programs, reach new territories, and serve a larger audience.

OUR IMPACT

By supporting individuals and organizations we serve the purpose economy

609
Social Innovation Management Fellows from 71 countries
2.6
Million USD scholarship offered
2100
Young East African Leaders trained through the YALI inititive
283
Brazilian Participants in Formação em Impacto Social
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235
Managers from 80 small and growing businesses (SGBs) joined our L4G program in emerging markets
20%
Revenue growth registered in SGBs who joined our Leadership for Growth program
40
Women social entrepreneurs trained in India to kickstart the WISEN Network
188
Custom training programs delivered to organizations all over the world
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2021 Anual Report Cover - A Year of Impact.
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A year of growth, impact, and experimentation

On the impact side, we experienced growth across the board. This includes doubling our reach through events and workshops; doubling the digital editions of the Postgraduate Certificate in Social Innovation Management (SIM); and nearly tripling graduates from our flagship program for organizations – Leadership for Growth. Beyond this, we increased the number of customized programs we ran, training an additional +1,000 changemakers. While growth may be a headline, the story is one of experimentation. We used the disruption of COVID and the challenge of adaptation as an invitation to innovate and pilot new models to scale our impact.

Download Amani Institute 2021 Report
connection

We are always happy to get to know changemakers, social entrepreneurs, social impact organizations and whoever is willing to work to create a better future for the people and the planet. Reach out to us if you are looking to develop a curriculum, to run an event, to spread a culture related to social impact.

Contact Us