The Foundation for African Social Entrepreneurship (FASE) was founded on a simple but powerful belief: communities possess the potential to solve many of their own challenges when people are equipped with the right opportunities, skills, leadership, and support systems.
The Foundation for African Social Entrepreneurship (FASE) is an international nonprofit organization committed to strengthening communities through leadership development, education, entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainable social impact. Founded on the belief that lasting transformation begins with local leadership and community ownership, FASE was established to move beyond traditional resource-driven approaches by helping communities develop the knowledge, relationships, leadership capacity, and institutional strength necessary for long-term development.
Over the years, FASE’s work has evolved from mobilizing resources and partnerships to developing practical frameworks that integrate leadership, social innovation, organizational learning, and community engagement. These experiences ultimately gave rise to the Transforming Communities Framework™, the Living Lab Initiative™, and the Center for Leadership and Social Innovation (CLSI), creating an integrated approach that connects research with practice and leadership with sustainable community transformation.
FASE’s programs are built around a single belief: sustainable transformation occurs when leaders, institutions, and communities learn, innovate, and collaborate together. Rather than offering isolated projects, our programs form an integrated pathway that moves from leadership philosophy to practical implementation and long-term institutional capacity.
To develop leaders, strengthen institutions, foster innovation, and empower communities to create sustainable transformation through collaborative learning, research, leadership development, and practical action.
We envision communities where leadership is shared, entrepreneurship creates opportunity, institutions continue to learn, and citizens work together to build resilient, innovative, and self-sustaining societies. Through collaboration, experimentation, and continuous learning, FASE seeks to help communities move from dependence to ownership, from isolated projects to collaborative ecosystems, and from short-term interventions to lasting transformation.
FASE began by supporting community-based initiatives in education, women’s empowerment, youth development, and agriculture. As our experience grew, we recognized that sustainable transformation requires an integrated approach. This realization led to the development of the FASE Ecosystem: FASE as the umbrella platform, CLSI as the leadership and innovation engine, Living Labs as practical learning environments, community programs as real-world applications, and the Learning Hub as the scaling platform.
FASE USA
FASE USA provides strategic leadership, organizational development, research coordination, publication development, and international partnership building. It serves as the administrative and strategic hub supporting the organization’s global vision.
FASE UK
FASE UK strengthens international collaboration through diaspora engagement, volunteer mobilization, partnership development, and knowledge exchange. It connects African communities with professionals, institutions, churches, and organizations committed to sustainable development.
FASE Sierra Leone
FASE Sierra Leone is the organization’s primary operational and innovation hub. It is where leadership development, youth enterprise, community engagement, vocational education, and Living Lab experimentation are implemented and refined. Many of the ideas presented in Transforming Communities and The Living Lab Blueprint emerged through years of practical learning and collaboration in Sierra Leone.
FASE Ghana
FASE Ghana supports leadership education, university partnerships, research collaboration, and regional expansion. Working alongside higher education institutions, it advances Living Lab learning, faculty collaboration, and community-engaged leadership development while strengthening regional networks across West Africa.
Dr. Alfred B. Sesay
Alfred B. Sesay, PhD, is an educator, leadership scholar, social entrepreneur, consultant, and nonprofit executive whose work focuses on leadership, social innovation, and sustainable community transformation. For more than three decades, he has worked across higher education, organizational development, nonprofit leadership, entrepreneurship, and international development, helping leaders, institutions, and communities strengthen their capacity to create lasting social impact.
He is the Founder and President of FASE and the founder of the Center for Leadership and Social Innovation (CLSI). His work across Sierra Leone, Ghana, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States has shaped a practical approach that connects scholarship with community practice through collaboration, continuous learning, innovation, and respect for local knowledge. He is the author of Transforming Communities and The Living Lab Blueprint, together with a growing collection of practical leadership resources within the Transforming Communities Series.
“Lasting transformation occurs when leaders build the capacity of people and institutions to continually learn, collaborate, innovate, and create value together.”
Stay informed about programs, Living Labs, leadership resources, publications, workshops, community stories, learning opportunities, and partnership updates.
© Foundation for African Social Entrepreneurship (FASE). All Rights Reserved.
