Africa's Premier Product Talent Accelerator.

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Product
Leadership
Accelerator

From fintech to health tech, Africa's digital economy is a phenomenally exciting ecosystem; however, product leadership must rise to meet it. The Product Leadership Accelerator (PLA) is here to meet that challenge.

Often described as “the Y Combinator of product talent,” PLA powers the next wave of African innovation by developing world-class product leaders who combine global product excellence with deep local understanding.

Now, PLA is evolving with a sharper focus, anchoring its efforts around three high-impact pillars designed to meet the ecosystem’s most urgent needs: a new generation of empowered product managers, stronger product teams, and a more connected senior leadership community.

A Fellowship

Africa is in the midst of unprecedented growth, entrepreneurial activity, and increased consumer product demand. This rapid development has caught many organisations by surprise, resulting in slow responses to market shifts, evolved consumer behaviour, and competitive pressures from non-African companies.

The private and public sectors in Africa face a significant challenge—the myth that creating solutions is the main thrust of product development, rather than on identifying and solving real problems.

This misunderstanding hinders value creation for citizens and customers, creating a huge gulf that PLA aims to fill.
PLA is designed to promote product-oriented cultures that focus on problem-solving and providing validated solutions that create true value for customers and citizens.

Why the PLA?

What Gaps Are We Filling

Africa is experiencing rapid growth and increased demand for consumer products, yet there’s a severe shortage of skilled product managers to build these products, hindering innovation and global competitiveness.

In addition, many organizations on the continent focus on solutions rather than identifying and solving real problems PLA emerges as a timely and targeted solution, equipping aspiring product leaders with essential skills and real-world experience, and directly addressing the talent gap, creating a pipeline and mindset that is problem discovery and product delivery oriented, resulting in successful products that are loved by the user.

The PLA Impact

The PLA Learning Journey

Testimonials

Fumnanya Okeleke-Kooper

Senior Product Manager, Ampersand

Energy Rwanda

Last year, the Inspire Africa Conference’s announcement in Kigali and the launch of the Product Leadership Accelerator (PLA) marked a defining moment for me. I had the privilege of contributing to its success — mentoring and facilitating product sessions with passionate learners. After 12 weeks of intense learning, building, and collaboration, it all culminated beautifully at the Inspire Africa Conference.

Gabrielle Bufrem,

Product Leadership Coach, GB Advisory

Such an amazing conference and such incredible work that you do Christian Idiodi!

My biggest takeaway, beyond the brilliant sessions with Christian ldiodi and Marty Cagan, was the power of community. The people I met reminded me how vital it is to stay connected, share ideas openly, and keep each other sharp in our product journeys.

Alain Rurangirwa,

PLA APM 2025 Fellow

Grateful to have completed the Product Leadership Accelerator (PLA) - Associate Product Manager Fellowship led by the incredible PLA team. An intense 12-week journey of learning alongside my Pod 3 teammates to learn how to solve real problems.

Elizabeth Ojesanmi,

PLA APM 2025 Fellow

It was such an honor learning directly from you, Marty Cagan. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and perspective, every session was deeply insightful and inspiring.

Being part of the Product Leadership Accelerator (PLA) cohort one and experiencing the Inspire Africa Conference firsthand was truly transformational. The lessons, the coaches panelists, and the energy have left a lasting impact. Thank you so much.