ABOUT ALUSB
The ALU School of Business (ALUSB) is a part of African Leadership University (ALU), which is accredited by the Higher Education Council of Rwanda and is located in the heart of the Rwandan capital, Kigali. The ALUSB MBA degree is awarded by African Leadership University.
ALUSB launched its first MBA class in 2016 and graduated its first class in July 2018.
Vision
In less than 6000 days, Africa will have the largest workforce in the world. This population boom could either be a humanitarian global crisis or the greatest source of global prosperity. The vision of the ALU School of Business is to serve as a catalyst for prosperity in Africa by developing African business leaders and entrepreneurs to help make this century The African Century!



“This is Africa’s century, but Africa needs us to achieve its full potential. The private sector will play a key role: maximising current opportunities and unearthing new areas of growth. The ALU School of Business is preparing the global leaders needed to help create this change.” –
Fred Swaniker, Founder & CEO
Our Leadership

Fred Swaniker
Founder, African Leadership Group
The Founder and Chairman of the Africa Leadership Group – an ecosystem of organisations that includes African Leadership Academy, African Leadership Network, Africa Advisory Group, and of course, African Leadership University.
Swaniker has been recognised as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and by Forbes Magazine as one of the top ten young ‘power men’ in Africa.
Nhlanhla Thwala
ALUSB Dean & ALU Provost
Nhlanhla Thwala started his career in 1986 as a high school teacher in his native Eswatini after completing a BA in History and English plus a Diploma in Education. In 1990 he completed an MA in Linguistics at Syracuse University. In 1994 he completed a PhD in formal Linguistics from the University of California in Los Angeles.
He then spent 16 years at Wits University, Johannesburg in various capacities including serving as the founding Head of the School of Literature, Language and Media, Director of the Wits Language School, Researcher at SOAS while on Sabbatical at Wits. In 2014 he left Wits and first joined Advtech (one the largest JSE listed private education companies in South Africa) as Head of the Institute of Independent Education (IIE).
He then joined Pearson South Africa as Managing Director of CTI Education Group (a higher education company acquired by Pearson in 2013). In that time he also served as the Academic Director of Pearson Institute of Higher Education. He also had Summer Teaching roles at Yale University, Boston University, and Ohio State University.


Who Should Apply To
This MBA Programme?
The ALUSB MBA is designed for ambitious, working professionals aspiring to catalyse prosperity, lead change and drive impact across the African continent. We employ a holistic admissions process examining your academic achievements, work experience, professional aspirations and leadership potential, in order to understand how you might benefit from the ALUSB MBA, make your impact to the world and contribute to the business school community.
