December 16, 2019
Good leaders are one of the most important components of growing organizations. Strong leadership requires several elements working in harmony. The right kind of guidance from a leader can help in maximizing output and reach goals while setting new ones.
Amani Institute launched Leadership for Growth in Bengaluru in November 2019. First cohort of the program in India is in partnership with ANDE (Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs) and saw participation of 24 senior and middle managers from 15 different small and growing businesses such as Upaya Social Ventures, Villgro, Stanford Seed, Enviu, Sambodhi Research and communication Pvt. Ltd., Samunnati, amongst others.
Leadership for Growth is a program designed for middle and senior managers in Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs) to develop mindsets, skills, and knowledge required to create a positive impact across three levels: self, team, organization.
The first module of the program recently concluded in Bengaluru focuses on Self-Leadership and helps participants understanding the different nuances of management and leadership, and the importance of peer to peer learning. Over the next five months, the participants will go on a journey to deep dive into the various concepts of leadership but they have already started using some of the tools in their work.
This program, in fact, shows its practical value for both organizational and individual development and has a proven track record of immediate business results for organizations while nurturing a culture of continuous learning and innovating. 
Amani Institute launched this leadership development program in Kenya in 2017 to address the needs of small and growing businesses in emerging markets. The program combines classroom-based courses, business application, online learning, coaching, as well as a strong emphasis on networking for the managers.
Initially called Amani Leadership and Management for Impact, since its inception in Kenya the program has seen the participation of 130 middle and senior managers from 50 different companies in East Africa. On average they saw revenue growth of more than 20%. Nearly one in three companies that send one manager to this program end up sending more managers after that.
As a result of a successful first leg of the program in East Africa, in September 2019, Amani Institute was declared the winner of the Argidius-ANDE talent challenge and won a grant to support scaling up the program to India and Brazil.
In March 2020, the first class of the program will also be launched in Brazil, where it runs in Portuguese and is called AGE (Acelerando Gestores para Escalar).
