"Above all, I seek to establish solutions adapted to these real-life situations"

Sokhna Ndiaye is one of those people you listen to and remember. A calm voice, but firm words. A clear vision, but feet firmly planted in everyday reality. When she speaks about women's leadership in Africa, it's not an abstract concept: it's her life, her struggle, her project. And now, her campus. 
 

A Chance to Seize

"It all stems from this: I am the product of a courageous choice my parents made to enable my brothers and me to access education." 

The tone is set. Sokhna Ndiaye grew up in Senegal, in a family where education was a conquest, not a given. Her father, destined for a prosperous merchant career, abandoned everything to enable his children to study far from criticism. A pillar mother, a committed mentor...  Sokhna found her inspiring figures early on. She understood that she didn't just have luck: she had a responsibility. 

This awareness guided her entire trajectory. Training at ISM Dakar, then a journey between France and Africa, serving higher education. Accreditations, certifications, training projects: for 18 years, Sokhna built bridges between two continents. 

But in 2024, everything accelerated. HEC Paris's Global Executive Master in Management - Sustainable Leadership in Africa major program acted as a catalyst. 
 

This experience made me realize that I needed to dedicate 100% of my time to this project. 

It was time. She took the leap.

Democratizing Women's Leadership 

The African Campus for Women's Leadership opens in Senegal. An ambitious initiative, but above all, a necessary one. "This campus is an emancipating enterprise, which aims to be the face and voice of new African leadership", affirms Sokhna. And for good reason: the exclusion of girls from the school system starts early. Too early. Marriage, couple life, social norms come to hinder their progress. Even educated women struggle to assert themselves. 

I don't question traditions. I seek to establish solutions adapted to these real-life situations. 

The Campus therefore, aims to be pedagogical, inclusive, accessible. A training venue, but above all, a space for consciousness. To make women understand their value, their economic role, their power of transformation  — and to fight against this persistent invisibility that too often excludes them from decision-making spheres.  

Two Targets, Two Action Levers 

Sokhna has identified two groups of women to support. First, those who already have an educational or professional background but need to strengthen their leadership skills. Second, those from rural areas, poorly or not schooled, often invisible in development policies. 

We must go these women, where they are, taking into account their constraints and daily lives.

The very structure of the project reflects this duality: a corporation to finance paid training, and a foundation to finance social actions. The financing of this component relies on a hybrid structure: it comes from private donations, partnerships with municipalities, public support (such as the Ministry of Women in Senegal), but also from committed companies. The objective is to ensure sustainable free access for women most distant from traditional circuits. 

A Project Already in Motion 

The company exists, the first training tests are conclusive, partnerships are multiplying. The official launch will take place on October 17,18 and 19 at the Grand National Theater of dakar: gala, seminar, intensive training. And a first cohort, symbol of a beginning, baptized the Honor Cohort, will officially open for registration.  

Le Campus Africain du Leadership au Féminin sera lancé à Dakar les 17, 18 et 19 octobre 2025

These three days have been designed to inspire, training, and connect today's and tomorrow's women leaders. An audacious initiative, rooted in local realities, for lasting impact. Sokhna has made strategic choices: refining her offer in itinerant mode, responding punctually to field requests, structuring the pedagogical and academic team, building the first content for women leaders as well as the general public. 

The physical campus physique will emerge within 4 to 5 years. Meanwhile, Sokhna deploys a flexible model, matching field needs, in connection with local collectivities, ministries, NGOs. 

From HEC to Dakar, a Return to Essential

HEC's Global Executive Master in Management program was more than training. For Sokhna, it was a turning point. 

I was able to formalize my project, benefit from support, test my ideas, refine my ambitions. 

En immersion avec d’autres leaders africains, Sokhna affine le modèle du Campus Africain du Leadership au Féminin 

But this academic adventure was enriched by another dynamic: that of the Lead Campus, the itinerant sustainable leadership program in Africa. From Senegal to Cote d'Ivoire, through Morocco, Egypt, then South Africa to Cape Town, Sokhna participated in a unique experience: rethinking sustainable development challenges through excellence modules, cultural immersions, visits to historical sites (like Nelson Mandela's prison on Robben Island), and meetings with local companies with high replication potential. 

Dans le cadre du programme Lead Campus, Sokhna et ses pairs nourrissent une réflexion ancrée dans l’histoire et la réalité du continent 

More than a certificate, Lead Campus is a journey of engagement and co-construction.

The same ambition drives her, regardless of the format: building a more just, inclusive, and sustainable future by placing women's leadership at the center. 

Sokhna is now preparing to reverse the journey: gradually leaving France, where she lived for 20 years, to live in Dakar. Time to let her children finish their studies. And then? The future is already in motion. After Senegal, Guinea. Then other African countries. One conviction: African women have a central role to play. 

"Everything is Possible"

« Everything is possible »: this isn't an empty phrase, it's a lived truth. Sokhna Ndiaye repeats it, shows it, transmits it. The African Campus for Women's Leadership is much more than a project: it's a living manifesto of this profound conviction.

« The objective is to equip her peers with the skills in force in the modern world in Africa » and to contribute to  « women's empowerment through training and leadership ».

And if that's what leadership is?