We envision a world in which African women leaders are actively participating in key decision-making processes across sectors.

We journey alongside girls and young women, igniting their inherent power and amplifying their voices and perspectives while nurturing legacies of influence that can be sustained and replicated globally. We build their leadership capacity by providing access to quality education, mentorship, supportive networks, as well as personal and professional development opportunities; while actively removing the financial barriers that hold women and girls back.

Our mission is to nurture transformative leadership in girls and young women from underserved and low-income backgrounds to meet the urgent need for more young African women in leadership.

We believe that communities are positively transformed when African girls and young women participate in critical conversations and collectively organize for change.

Our Values

A perfect metaphor for Akili Dada's core values is "STILE" - an arrangement of steps that allow people to climb over a fence or wall. Our core values inform our work and encompass:

Sisterhood: we are committed to building a network of solidarity and support across the Akili Dada sisterhood.
Transformation: we encourage independent thinking and virtue in everything we do.
Integrity: we believe it takes courage to stand by your principles and uphold what is right.
Leadership: we are committed to creating social change through growth at the personal, communal, national, and international levels.
Excellence: we strive for distinction and brilliance in every aspect of our work.

Our Herstory

Dr Wanjiru Kamau Rutenberg

DR. WANJIRU KAMAU-RUTENBERG
As a teenager, Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg moved from Nairobi to Denver with a sense of rooted belonging in the African continent. Driven by deep gratitude and positive obligation, she founded Akili Dada in 2005 to address the underrepresentation of women in decision-making and leadership positions across Africa.

While conducting her dissertation research on women’s rights in Kenya, Wanjiru realized the challenges African women and girls encounter, particularly those from underserved backgrounds, in pursuing education. She equally realized the difference that structured scholarships, compassionate mentoring, and purposeful leadership training can make.

Today, Akili Dada personifies Dr. Wanjiru’s conviction that leadership is not accidental but must be nurtured with intention and purpose; creating enabling environments in which African girls and young women pursue educational and leadership opportunities ultimately encouraging them to take their rightful places in society.

Our Philosophy (W.A.U)

Seventeen years of engaging and collaborating with girls and young women have informed our philosophy to purposefully create spaces and platforms that foster intergenerational learning, sisterhood, mentorship, and agency. By doing so, we contribute to catalyzing and sustaining the feminist movement in Africa and beyond.

Washa (Ignite). Angaza (Amplify). Urithi (Legacy).

This philosophy informs our three core programs targeting the full spectrum of African Girls and Young Women.