Designed to develop a new generation of community-spirited business leaders in Africa,
July 2003 launch planned by TechnoServe, the Aspen Institute, the Letsema Foundation.

Barloworld, the international industrial brand management company based in Johannesburg, has agreed to provide long-term corporate support for establishing the Africa Leadership Initiative (ALI) in South Africa, including hosting the official launch event in July of 2003.

Already underway in Ghana, Mozambique and East Africa, the Africa Leadership Initiative is a joint program of two U.S.-based non-profit organizations - TechnoServe and the Aspen Institute - in cooperation with in-country partners like Isaac Shongwe, Chairman of the Letsema Foundation of South Africa and a 2002 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.

The Africa Leadership Initiative is designed to foster a new generation of community-spirited business leaders in Africa and to encourage them to play a more active role in promoting equitable social and economic development in their countries. Starting in September of 2003 and continuing through 2006, a group of 20 leaders drawn primarily from South Africa's business sector will participate in a series of regular meetings and seminars patterned after the Aspen Institute's highly renowned Henry Crown Fellowship Program. Each of the 20 ALI "Fellows" from South Africa will also commit to undertake a community leadership project, leveraging their energies, their skills and the resources of the companies they lead.

Over the next four years, Barloworld has agreed to host the Africa Leadership Initiative's annual seminar in South Africa each September; to donate the use of its conference facilities in Mphumalanga and transportation for participants to and from Johannesburg. Barloworld has also agreed to sponsor an event to launch ALI in South Africa in July of 2003. The total in-kind donation by the company is approximately $160,000. (This is in addition to Barloworld's in-kind support of approximately $30,000 to sponsor a four-day executive leadership seminar in South Africa from October 9-13, 2002, which served as the foundation for establishing the Africa Leadership Initiative there.)

"Having seen the Africa Leadership Initiative in action, I'm convinced of the program's potential to have a unique and positive impact on emerging business leaders in Africa," said Mark Drewell, Head of Corporate Communications at Barloworld. "Barloworld is sponsoring this initiative because we believe that fostering the right kind of business leadership is a key element in the future success of South Africa."

"The support and participation of leading private-sector corporations like Barloworld are critical for establishing the Africa Leadership Initiative and for ensuring its success and continued growth," said Peter A. Reiling, President and CEO of TechnoServe. "Through its support of ALI, Barloworld is also demonstrating its commitment to the country's future success and to a better way of life for all South Africans." The first ALI seminar in South Africa will be held September 17-21, 2003 and will be co-moderated by Keith Berwick, the Executive Director of the Aspen Institute's Henry Crown Fellowship Program, Skip Battle, CEO of Ask Jeeves and a regular moderator at Aspen, Peter A. Reiling, a 1998 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, and Isaac Shongwe.

Barloworld joins the West Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (whose grant reflects the partnership between TechnoServe and the Leadership Regional Network for Southern Africa -- LeaRN), the Databank Foundation of Ghana and others in supporting the Africa Leadership Initiative.

For more information about Barloworld: Visit their web site at www.barloworld.com.
For more information about TechnoServe: Visit their web site at www.technoserve.org or contact Mara Neville, mneville@tns.org, 203-899-3154.