Executive programme · Hybrid · Inaugural cohort
The AI-Driven Executive
A 12-week executive programme in AI-driven leadership for African leaders. Learn to use AI as a strategic thought partner, make faster and better decisions, and lead adoption across your organisation. You finish with a 90-day AI agenda your board can fund.
Designed in Africa for African leaders, with original case studies, faculty-led sessions and senior practitioners in the room.
Programme at a glance
₦1,500,000
or three instalments of ₦500,000
- Starts Saturday 20 February 2027
- 12 weeks, about 5 hours a week
- Faculty-led live case sessions and 2 in-person days in Lagos
- Applications close Friday 29 January 2027
- Cohort limited to 30 executives
- GAA Executive Certificate in AI-Driven Leadership
Admission is by application. Accepted applicants receive a private enrolment link.
Programme overview
AI is now a leadership question
Most executives agree that AI matters. Far fewer have turned that belief into decisions, budgets and results. The gap is rarely about technology. It is about leadership: who owns the question of where AI creates value, and who is accountable for getting it done.
The AI-Driven Executive closes that gap. Over 12 weeks you learn a practical way of working with AI as a thought partner, apply it to a real strategic problem from your own organisation, and leave with a 90-day plan you can put in front of your board.
No technical background is needed. The programme is built for people who lead, decide and are accountable for results.
Our approach
Built in Africa, for African leaders
Every session is grounded in the markets you lead in: original case studies set in African organisations, the regulation you actually operate under, and the infrastructure and data realities your plans must work within.
One idea runs through all twelve weeks: AI sharpens your thinking, while the judgment and the accountability stay with you.
What you will learn
Key concepts
Find where AI creates value
Map AI opportunities across three areas: people productivity, operational efficiency and the value of your products and services.
Use AI as a thought partner
Master GAA's FRAME method for structuring AI conversations, so AI gives you real counsel instead of generic answers.
Make better decisions
Stress-test strategy with scenarios, pre-mortems and a virtual advisory board, and know where human judgment must lead.
Lead adoption
Build the psychological safety, ownership and focus that turn AI licences into lasting change.
Govern AI responsibly
Understand Nigeria's Data Protection Act, the AU Continental AI Strategy and what good board oversight of AI looks like.
Leave with a plan
Build and defend a 90-day AI agenda for your organisation, reviewed by faculty and fellow executives.
Who will benefit
Built for leaders who own decisions
C-suite and board directors
Executives and directors of corporates, banks and public institutions who must set direction on AI and oversee it.
Founders and CEOs
Leaders of growth-stage companies and SMEs who want AI to sharpen strategy and accelerate growth.
Senior leaders
Directors and general managers preparing for enterprise roles, and public and development sector leaders driving digital change.
No technical background is needed. The cohort is deliberately mixed across sectors and countries, because that mix is where much of the learning happens.
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Programme syllabus
Five modules and a capstone over 12 weeks
Each module runs over two weeks: a content week built around a live case discussion, then a project week where you apply the ideas to your own organisation. Open each module to see the readings, sessions and tasks.
Module 1: The Strategic Imperative (Weeks 1 and 2)
Why AI is a leadership responsibility that cannot be handed to the IT department, where AI actually creates value, and how Africa’s constraints can become advantages.
Live: Opening Day in Lagos, Saturday 20 February 2027. Case discussion: Aquarius Trust Bank (Part A).
Pre-reads: GAA Reading 1.1: AI Is a Leadership Decision, Not an IT Project; GAA Reading 1.2: AI in African Markets, Five Sectors, Five Signals; AU Continental AI Strategy (executive summary); Aquarius Trust Bank case (Part A).
Project week: Lab 1, the AI Value Map. A one-page map of your organisation’s top AI opportunities, ranked by impact and feasibility.
Module 2: AI as Thought Partner (Weeks 3 and 4)
The thought-partner mindset and GAA’s FRAME method: Facts, Role, Ask, Make, Evaluate. Why letting the AI question you first makes the difference, and the guardrails that keep confidential information safe.
Live: Wednesday 3 March 2027, 4pm to 6pm WAT. We rebuild participants’ own AI conversations live.
Pre-reads: GAA Reading 2.1: The FRAME Method, Working with AI as a Thought Partner; GAA Reading 2.2: Data Hygiene for Executives.
Project week: Lab 2, the Thought Partner Session. A full FRAME working session on your live strategic problem, producing three new options and a short reflection on where your judgment overruled the AI.
Module 3: Deciding with AI (Weeks 5 and 6)
Using AI to test decisions through assumptions, pre-mortems, scenarios and red-teaming. Building a virtual advisory board, and spotting failure modes such as invented facts, flattery and bias.
Live: Wednesday 17 March 2027, 4pm to 6pm WAT. Case discussion: Mavuno AgriHoldings.
Pre-reads: GAA Reading 3.1: Deciding with AI, Assumptions, Pre-Mortems and Red Teams; GAA Reading 3.2: When AI Gets It Wrong, a Field Guide for Executives; Mavuno AgriHoldings case (Parts A and B).
Project week: Lab 3, the Red-Team Memo. Two pages on a real pending decision: the strongest case against it, the assumptions underneath it and your final position.
Module 4: Leading AI Adoption (Weeks 7 and 8)
Why AI programmes stall, how to build psychological safety, and how to focus on the few use cases that create most of the value.
Live: Wednesday 31 March 2027, 4pm to 6pm WAT. Case discussion: Aquarius Trust Bank (Part B).
Pre-reads: GAA Reading 4.1: Why AI Programmes Stall and How Leaders Restart Them; GAA Reading 4.2: Psychological Safety and the Conversation About AI and Jobs; Aquarius Trust Bank case (Part B).
Project week: Lab 4, the Adoption Blueprint. Your first three use cases with owners and metrics, a champions structure and your message to staff about AI and jobs.
Module 5: Governance, Risk and the African Context (Weeks 9 and 10)
Board-level oversight of AI, Nigeria’s Data Protection Act and NDPC guidance, the AU Continental AI Strategy, ethics in African deployment, and building for low-bandwidth, data-scarce, mobile-first markets.
Live: Wednesday 14 April 2027, 4pm to 6pm WAT, with a guest speaker who practises in data protection.
Pre-reads: GAA Reading 5.1: AI Governance for Boards and Executive Teams; GAA Reading 5.2: The Nigeria Data Protection Act for AI Leaders; AU Continental AI Strategy (full document).
Project week: Lab 5, the Governance Charter. A one-page AI governance charter for your organisation covering policy, accountability, risk oversight and compliance.
Module 6: Capstone and Closing Day (Weeks 11 and 12)
You bring everything together into a board-ready 90-day AI agenda for your organisation.
Capstone clinic: Wednesday 28 April 2027, 4pm to 6pm WAT. Virtual office hours with faculty.
Capstone due: Wednesday 5 May 2027.
Closing Day in Lagos: Saturday 8 May 2027. Capstone panels, graduation and the executive dinner.
Capstone project
Your 90-day AI agenda
Everything in the programme builds toward one document: a board-ready plan for AI in your organisation. You present it at Closing Day to a panel of faculty and fellow executives, who challenge it the way your board would.
Each lab builds one part of the plan, so by Week 11 you are refining a strong draft rather than starting from a blank page.
What your plan includes
- The strategic context and the problem you brought into the programme
- Where AI creates value for you, and the first use cases you will pursue
- One major decision, stress-tested with a virtual advisory board
- An adoption plan with named owners and metrics
- Governance and compliance commitments
- A 90-day action calendar with owners and checkpoints
The experience
How you will learn
Case discussions
Live sessions open with a case in the Harvard tradition, including two original cases set in African organisations.
Applied labs
Five labs where you work on your own organisation's real decisions, not textbook examples.
Peer triads
You are matched with two fellow executives for twelve weeks of feedback and accountability.
Two days in Lagos
An Opening Day to build relationships early, and a Closing Day for capstone panels, graduation and dinner.
February 2027 cohort calendar
Week by week
Live virtual sessions run on Wednesdays from 4pm to 6pm WAT and are recorded. Project weeks are for applied work: you complete your lab on your own organisation, meet your peer triad and receive faculty feedback.
| Week | Dates (2027) | Module | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 to 21 Feb | Module 1 | Opening Day in Lagos, Saturday 20 February |
| 2 | 22 to 28 Feb | Module 1 | Project week: Lab 1, AI Value Map |
| 3 | 1 to 7 Mar | Module 2 | Live session, Wednesday 3 March |
| 4 | 8 to 14 Mar | Module 2 | Project week: Lab 2, Thought Partner Session. Second instalment due Friday 12 March |
| 5 | 15 to 21 Mar | Module 3 | Live session, Wednesday 17 March |
| 6 | 22 to 28 Mar | Module 3 | Project week: Lab 3, Red-Team Memo |
| 7 | 29 Mar to 4 Apr | Module 4 | Live session, Wednesday 31 March |
| 8 | 5 to 11 Apr | Module 4 | Project week: Lab 4, Adoption Blueprint. Final instalment due Friday 9 April |
| 9 | 12 to 18 Apr | Module 5 | Live session, Wednesday 14 April |
| 10 | 19 to 25 Apr | Module 5 | Project week: Lab 5, Governance Charter |
| 11 | 26 Apr to 2 May | Capstone | Capstone clinic, Wednesday 28 April |
| 12 | 3 to 9 May | Capstone | Capstone due Wednesday 5 May. Closing Day in Lagos, Saturday 8 May |
Faculty
Led by Akin Akinsulire
Akin is the Founding Director of Global Analyst Academy, Managing Partner at FifthGearPlus Consulting and Founding Partner and CEO of ScaleBurg. He holds an MBA from Aston Business School and has completed executive programmes at Harvard Business School and the Wharton School.
His work has supported more than 40,000 entrepreneurs, helped facilitate over $24 million in investment and engaged more than 500 executives, across programmes in over 30 African countries.
He is joined by guest speakers who lead AI, governance and transformation work in African organisations. Meet them below.
At a glance
- MBA, Aston Business School
- Executive education at Harvard Business School and Wharton
- 40,000+ entrepreneurs supported
- 500+ executives engaged
- Programmes in 30+ African countries
Speakers
Learn from leaders doing this work
Senior practitioners join the programme to share how they are leading AI, governance and transformation inside African organisations, and to challenge your thinking on the decisions in front of you.
Speaker Name 1
Role, Organisation
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Speaker Name 2
Role, Organisation
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Speaker Name 3
Role, Organisation
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Speaker Name 4
Role, Organisation
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Fees and dates
Upcoming cohort
| Start date | Apply by | Fee | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 20 February 2027 | Friday 29 January 2027 | ₦1,500,000 | 12 weeks, about 5 hours a week |
Pay in full
₦1,500,000, paid on acceptance.
Three instalments
₦500,000 on acceptance, ₦500,000 by Friday 12 March 2027 and ₦500,000 by Friday 9 April 2027.
Group enrolment
10% off for three or more participants from the same organisation: ₦1,350,000 each. We can invoice your organisation.
The fee covers all sessions, labs and materials, the GAA Executive Reading Pack, both in-person days in Lagos (including meals and the closing dinner), your certificate and a Day 90 follow-up session.
Admissions
How to join
STEP 1
Apply
STEP 2
Review
STEP 3
Decision
STEP 4
Enrol
Apply
Apply for the February 2027 cohort
Applications close on Friday 29 January 2027. Seats are limited to 30 and we review applications as they arrive, so applying early helps.
Nominating colleagues? Each person applies individually. Name your colleagues in the last field and we will apply the group discount.
Questions? Email support@globalanalystacademy.com or book a conversation with the team.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a technical background?
No. This is a leadership programme, not a technical course, and there is no coding. If you can lead a strategy meeting, you can do well here.
Which AI tools will we use?
The labs work with any leading AI model, such as Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini. Use the one you have access to. We teach methods that carry across tools rather than tricks for one product.
How much time will this take?
About five hours a week. In a content week that means a two-hour live session plus reading. In a project week it means your lab and a 45-minute call with your peer triad. The two in-person days are Saturdays.
What if I miss a live session?
Every virtual session is recorded and posted on the GAA Learning Portal. We do expect you at both in-person days, because that is where the cohort and the capstone come together.
Where do the in-person days take place?
In Lagos. We share venue details with accepted participants. If you are based outside Nigeria, ask us about joining Opening Day online.
How is this different from other AI courses?
Most AI courses teach tools. This programme develops leadership: deciding where AI creates value, testing major decisions with it, leading adoption and governing it well. You work on your own organisation’s real problems throughout and finish with a board-ready plan, challenged by faculty, guest speakers and senior peers.
How do the instalments work?
You pay ₦500,000 on acceptance, ₦500,000 by Friday 12 March 2027 and ₦500,000 by Friday 9 April 2027. Your certificate is issued once all payments are complete.
Can my organisation pay for me?
Yes. We can invoice your organisation directly. Three or more participants from the same organisation receive 10% off each place.
What do I receive at the end?
The GAA Executive Certificate in AI-Driven Leadership, membership of the GAA executive alumni network and a Day 90 follow-up session on your capstone plan.
February 2027 cohort · 30 seats
Lead AI in your organisation, starting in February
Applications close on Friday 29 January 2027. The programme starts with Opening Day in Lagos on Saturday 20 February.