I’ve been approached several times over the course of early 2013 in regards to setting up local management on the ground for nonprofits and social enterprises in Sub Saharan Africa.

The questions have often been the same:

how does one make connections?

what does relationship with local professionals look like?

And, my favorite question by far (because it means people are challenging themselves to think more broadly about Africa): why does it bother me so much when folks send American interns or volunteers to run their operations on the ground, rather than hiring locally?

I’ve been pondering for several weeks on how to best present the answers to these questions here on my blog, and I keep coming back to the work of my friend Teddy Ruge, who co-founded Project Diaspora, an online platform for mobilizing, engaging and motivating members of Africa Diaspora to engage in matters important to the continent’s development.

Ruge writes and speaks extensively on Africa’s current renaissance driven by technology, youth and the Diaspora. He is a frequent contributor to several online publications including CNN, New York Times, PopTech, The Globe and Mail, and The Guardian.

In January 2012, he was awarded a ‘Champion of Change’ award by the White House for his community development work in East Africa.

(via My Q and A with Teddy Ruge: Hiring Locally for #socent Project Management in Africa | Voye’m)

Ed’s note: you can follow @tmsruge

There are several talented young leaders in Africa and Diaspora making positive change and making mama Africa proud. One of them is Yetunde Odugbesan, a young African business leader seeking positive leadership change especially for Africa and its female folks. Although she is based in the diaspora, Yetunde has been involved in several developmental projects across the continent. At just 25, she has been invited by the Nigerian government and World Bank to appear as a motivational speaker. She has also spoken at the U.N. World Conference on the Status of Women – advocating for programs that will empower girls in Africa to realise their potential –  even in the midst of poverty and political strife.

Yetunde, who sits on several boards aimed at alleviating many of the social and economic issues in various African countries owns a consulting company, Yetunde Global Consulting LLC and a mentorship organisation, Young Women’s Guide which helps connect girls with women leaders and groups that can best help them pursue their quest for social change.

In this interview, Yetunde speaks about her personal and professional life as well as her plan for the coming year – she says “life is all about going to the next level and she says it takes consistency to do that!”

Ventures Woman had a chance to interview Eva Muraya, a renowned Kenyan entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of Color Creation Ltd, the first advertising and branding business to be ISO 9001 certified in Kenya. She runs BSD (EA) Ltd, a leading regional brand, strategy and design agency. Eva has won numerous awards including the premier Goldman Sachs Fortune Global Leaders Award. She was among 100 women nominated to receive The International Alliance for Women (TIAW) World of Difference 100 Award. She is an alumnus of the Legatum Pioneers of Prosperity and her business Color Creation Limited was a top finalist in the 2006 Africa Business Awards. In 2006, Eva was selected to represent Kenya in the Fortune/State Department International Women Leaders Mentoring Partnership. A motivational speaker, Eva has addressed the Fortune’s Most Powerful Women’s Summit. She serves on Vital Voices Africa Advisory Board and recently joined USIU’s Chandaria School of Business Advisory Board. Read on! (via Kenya’s Eva Muraya: Entrepreneurship And Why The Women Of Africa Should Play Economics - Ventures Africa)