The African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) has launched a flagship initiative, the “ALSF Academy Project." Under this initiative, the ALSF has developed a three-level capacity building and certification program. This program will be conducted through an interactive online portal, starting with an inception phase consisting of a series of in-person workshops. It is an innovative tool that will efficiently produce, collect and disseminate knowledge, as well as provide tailor-made training solutions for African lawyers and professionals.

The ALSF is implementing the Academy Project in partnership with the East Africa Law Society (EALS), the Southern African Development Community Lawyers Association (SADCLA), the International Training Centre in Africa for Francophone Lawyers (CIFAF), the African Business Law Firms Association (ABLFA) and the capacity building organization, ILFA. In sum, the partner institutions, in collaboration with national bar associations are providing valuable support in designing and implementing the three-level certification program, with the aim of granting continuing legal education credits to participants.

The ALSF will hold an introductory level in-person training workshop in Kigali, Rwanda from 15-20 October 2018, for Anglophone African lawyers selected by the SADCLA and the EALS. The subject areas to be covered during the workshop include (i) mining; (ii) oil & gas; (iii) power; (iv) infrastructure and Public Private Partnerships; (v) sovereign debt; and (vi) the soft skills required for a successful legal practice (“Personal and Professional Development”).

Subsequently, the ALSF Academy Project will organize a similar introductory level in-person training workshop for Francophone African lawyers from 12 -17 November 2018, in Cotonou, Benin in collaboration with the CIFAF and the ABFLA. Participants who attend the introductory level workshop will be equipped to better understand issues related to complex commercial transactions and will be prepared to take online exams to obtain an introductory level certificate

Additionally, the Facility plans to launch the ALSF Academy’s online portal in partnership with ILFA by the end of 2019. This online portal will centralise the ALSF Academy’s e-learning programs and the related learning materials, and offer other online resources such as model agreements, guides and sector-specific publications, as well as a networking and discussion platform for participants and experts.

About ALSF

The African Legal Support Facility is an international organization hosted by the African Development Bank Group. The Facility is dedicated to providing legal advice and technical assistance to African countries in their negotiation of complex commercial transactions, creditor litigation and other related sovereign transactions. The ALSF also develops and proposes innovative tools for capacity building and knowledge management.

About the African Development Bank Group

The African Development Bank Group is Africa’s premier development finance institution.  It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF).  On the ground in 44 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank supports the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states.