The Special Foundation is a social impact organisation that focuses on raising young African leaders through education by providing platforms and opportunities to fulfil their dreams. We are a community of young professionals with a vision to improve the quality of leadership in all spheres of governance in Africa by creating access for more children to get an education
Founded by Seyi Akinwale in 2018 through his vision to improve the quality of leadership in all spheres of governance in Africa and ensure the creation of a platform where more young people can maximize their potential by gaining access to education. The foundation now has over 400 active partners and volunteers and has empowered over 21,000 less privileged, gifted African Children through education, mentorship, and leadership opportunities.
Our Mission
To improve the quality of leadership in Africa by providing a platform where less privileged and highly talented children can be equipped with an education, mentoring and leadership training to bring about a positive influence to their world.
Our Vision
“Making dreams come true”
We dream of an Africa where more young people have access to an education and the essential
tools that provide them with a foundation to be positive change agents to their respective
communities, the African continent and the World.
Our Numbers
Our 2030 Target
21,000
+Nigerian children directly impacted by the foundation over the last 5 years
100,000
+Africans directly impacted by the Foundation
460
+Nigerian children are given access to education through the Inspire Scholarship Program yearly
5,000
+African students given access to education through scholarships every year
10,672
+Nigerian children access educational and vocational training through the free Summer School Program yearly
20,000
+African students sponsored through the Summer School programs
6,879
+Nigerian children accessing mentorship through our Mentorship/Career Day Program
60,000
+African students on our mentorship program
5
+Nigerian Schools accessing conducive learning environment through our school build project
100
+African schools benefiting from the School Build Program
Meet The Founder
Seyi Akinwale
Seyi is a solutionist and passionate about developing sustainable solutions that address societal challenges. He is a trained board member and has extensive experience originating, developing and executing infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is an Alumni of the prestigious University of Chicago Booth School of Business and has corporate experience leading finance teams at General Electric and Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC).
His understanding of the key role education plays in the development of nations has led to the decision to set up the Foundation as a platform to improve the quality of leadership in Africa by increasing access to education for less privileged children.
.. Every Child is SPECIAL, and it is our joint responsibility to unearth the unique possibilities in them...
How We Work
Our strategy is anchored on three pillars which are Quality, Life Long Development and Access. Currently, we are scaling our impact across Nigeria and Africa by targeting to raise 100,000 leaders by 2030. Our strategy directly resonates with Sustainable Development Goal 4 on Education though our work spans across a wide spectrum of the SDGs global development framework.
Improving Quality Education
The Special Foundation leverages partnerships to improve the quality of education for all
students in Nigeria. Through our partnership with schools, we extend our reach to disadvantaged
communities and lower the costs of quality education to the most vulnerable.
Lifelong Development
Our lifelong development programme provides educational and psycho-social support to facilitate
the continuous personal and professional development of our beneficiaries. The programme
includes leadership training and mentorship through internships, community involvement and
lifelong engagement through our volunteer network equipping young people with the leadership and
life skills needed to become champions in their families, communities, and schools.
Access to Education
We provide access to education through two targeted scholarship programmes, the Inspire
Scholarship & the Special Scholarship. The Inspire scholarship is targeted at children in
primary and secondary schools while The Special scholarship is targeted at talented & gifted
students in local tertiary institutions.
Our Footprint & Impact Locations
Through cooperation agreements with State and Local Governments, Missionary Societies and Schools. We currently sponsor children across 21 states in Nigeria with the vision to move to other African Countries. We have an operating office in Lagos which coordinates all our activities.
Our impact locations include; Lagos, Niger, Abuja, Kano, Adamawa, Ogun, Osun, Gombe, Kogi, Plateau, Enugu, Oyo, Kaduna, Ondo, Jigawa, Katsina, Ekiti, Imo, Cross RIver, and Delta.
Our Accountability Framework
Our accountability is essential to our continued ability to work and deliver our impact- driven objectives. We apply the resources at our disposal: the experience, skills, and knowledge of our team members and third-party contributors, our networks, and leverage value-adding support from our army of volunteers and ambassadors.
We have pledged to tackle the educational deficit in Africa through our various scholarship interventions, mentorship programs, and infrastructure development initiatives.
Our accountability is maintained through:
- A vibrant board of trustees and advisory council that provides general oversight of the activities of the foundation.
- A set of operating principles to which our team, board, advisory council and ambassadors are held accountable, supported by a robust control framework to ensure these principles are followed.
- Regular reports that assess our performance against pre-defined impact targets and milestones.
