Kofi Annan Fellowship

Macro Advisory Partners (MAP) launched the Macro Advisory Partners Kofi Annan Fellowship in 2024. We provide a two-year fully funded educational and professional advancement programme designed to honour the late Secretary-General Kofi Annan, invest in young people from the African continent, and bring new global talent to the MAP team.

Background

The late Kofi Annan was United Nations Secretary-General from 1997-2007 and Chairman of MAP’s Global Advisory Board from 2013-2018. He was a singular individual, a global leader and a colleague, mentor and friend to many of us at MAP that had the honour of working with him during his tenure at the United Nations, and in the decade after that.

We at Macro Advisory Partners were honoured when Secretary-General Annan agreed to serve as Chairman of our Global Advisory Board when we launched the firm, a role he served in until he passed away in 2018. In that role, he guided us as we grew to the organisation of nearly 100 people that we are now. He provided counsel and wisdom and helped us to ensure that in our global assessments, we remained engaged in the issues and regions of the world that are often overlooked.

As we navigated challenges to the business and to the world, Secretary-General Annan remained MAP’s North Star, and we will always remain grateful for his pragmatic advice, unique perspective and guidance.

Purpose

To honour the Secretary-General, his life, his legacy and his deep commitment to advancing opportunities for young people, we are pleased to inaugurate the Macro Advisory Partners Kofi Annan Fellowship through which MAP will provide a one-year post-graduate scholarship followed by a one-year Fellowship at MAP for a young professional candidate from Africa. We are especially delighted to have the support of Mrs Annan, and the family, as well as the Kofi Annan Foundation, for this initiative.

Our hope is this that through the Fellowship the firm can invest in young people from the continent, support their education and their professional advancement and build on the global network of talented individuals connected to, and aware of, the Secretary-General’s extraordinary global legacy, and his deep impact on all who were fortunate enough to know him. 

As the Secretary-General himself said “any society that does not succeed in tapping into the energy and creativity of its youth will be left behind”. He was deeply committed to the principles of youth leadership and inclusion as tools for solving local and global challenges, especially in Africa, which currently holds the largest number of young people of any continent.

All of the grand challenges for the planet’s future, including climate change, food security, health, and the shaping of emerging technologies will need solutions developed by committed, engaged and innovative young people.