ABOUT THE PROGRAMME

State-owned enterprises carry much of the weight of economic development and public service delivery across Africa, in
sectors such as energy, transport, infrastructure, finance and natural resources. They are expected to advance national
development objectives while remaining commercially viable, financially disciplined and credible with the public.

That dual mandate places sustained pressure on the boards and executives who lead them.

Where SOEs underperform, the cause is often less a shortage of technical capacity than weaknesses in governance: unclear
accountability, pressure from political and other stakeholders, weak internal controls and limited transparency. Boards and
executive teams take strategic decisions amid competing expectations, blurred lines between oversight and management, and significant fiscal and reputational risk.

This programme is built around those conditions. It strengthens board and executive capability in strategic governance,
oversight and decision-making, with particular attention to how governance failures develop in practice and how boards can prevent them: through sounder judgement, clearer roles, more rigorous evaluation of strategy and better governance
processes. Research-based frameworks are applied throughout to the institutional and operational realities participants face in their own organisations.