Africa's Premier Product Talent Accelerator.
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
PLA envisions an Africa where product management excellence drives economic and technological transformation.
By finding and nurturing a new generation of product leaders, PLA addresses the continent's most pressing needs, with viable solutions to our complex problems.
The vision is to create a vibrant product ecosystem and talent base where African products lead on the global stage, delivering solutions that delight users and drive sustained growth.
Through the ripple effect of our trained leaders, Africa will become a beacon of innovation, with a culture of excellence and continuous improvement in product development. This transformation will position Africa as a pivotal player in the global digital economy, ensuring prosperity and progress for future generations.
The PLA Learning Journey
PLA’s Associate Product Manager (APM) Fellowship is a cohort-based learning experience for early-career professionals breaking into product. Through immersive learning, real-world placements, and expert mentorship, we help future product managers develop the mindset, skillset, and toolset to thrive in Africa’s most exciting tech environments.
What Fellows get:
• 3 months of structured, real-world experience
• Training and mentorship from product leaders across Africa and beyond
• Cohort-based learning and community support
• Career placement support after graduation
From Ideas to Impact.
The Product Leadership Accelerator (PLA) showed up strong at the Inspire Africa Conference 2025. Together, we’re building Africa’s next generation of product leaders.
Interested?
We are seeking financial support from grants, partnerships, and private-sector investments. In addition, PLA plans to engage experienced product coaches and practitioners to deliver the program. Collaborations with leading businesses, public sector organizations, and academic institutions will be key to widen the reach and impact