Henley Africa launches new African Hero scholarship

Searching for heroes

Jonathan Foster-Pedley, Dean and director of Henley Africa, says the African Hero scholarship celebrates the unsung heroes who, despite having faced significant adversity, have stood up and challenged those responsible for bringing South Africa to its knees – politically, economically and socially. “We want to salute those heroes who, through gritty determination, have kept the spirit of democracy, equality, progress and fairness alive.

“At the dawn of our democracy, South Africans knew who their African heroes were – Mandela, Tambo and the like – people who sacrificed themselves and their lives to bring change and end the misery of Apartheid. Yet in the past nine years, South Africans have been hard-pressed to find heroes to look up to. We lost our way under a fog of mismanagement, corruption and collusion in state capture. We lost confidence in ourselves, in our purpose and to some degree in Africa.

“This scholarship acknowledges those South African and African heroes who have risen up in our time of need and who are inspiring South Africans to join together to build a better future for us all. It’s our way of encouraging people of all backgrounds in South Africa to stand up and make a difference.”

As an institution whose stated mission is to build the people, who build the businesses that build Africa, Henley Africa aims to provide education that gives people the skills and capabilities to build businesses that deliver value, create employment and nurture growth. “Our education also aims to instill in our students ethical and moral values and standards that are critical to good governance and a prosperous South Africa.”

Henley Africa is also driving corporate activism, a process whereby it is instilling consciousness into the business community around the unintended consequences of what may seem in the heat of the moment to be rational commercial practice.

“We want to give business people the tools to stand up for good practice and for them to help those around them become aware of the unintended consequences of their actions, which may seem in the moment to be good for business but are bad for our country, our nation and economy.”

Visit the MBA programme details at https://www.henleysa.ac.za/mba/ or download the scholarship application form here to apply.