Ahmed co-founded SMART Liberia in 2011, as a result of his experience as a high school graduate looking for mentorship opportunities and resources to access higher education. SMART Liberia’s work is focused on three strategic areas: the Education Advancement Project, a university preparatory programme for high school graduates; the Youth Entrepreneurship Programme, an incubation service for young Liberian entrepreneurs; and the Professional Development Programme, designed to facilitate the entry of university graduates into the professional world.
Ahmed attended the One Young World Summit in Munich 2021, as a European Commission Peace Ambassador. He was a signatory of the “Declaration on the future of Peacebuilding and Leadership”, along with his fellow Peace Ambassadors, which was published on International Peace Day in 2021. As a result of his One Young World experience, Ahmed made important connections, and was able to leverage his growing network to continue developing as a young leader.
SMART Liberia maintains its own space, known as the Changemakers Village, which has emerged as a hub for young people from all walks of life to come together and pursue their dreams and entrepreneurial ideas. It also functions as a co-working space. Through their Education Advancement Project they have supported 34 students to study abroad on fully or partially funded scholarships, with SMART Liberia providing advice and preparatory aid throughout their application process. The organisation has also been instrumental in the launch and incubation of 40 new businesses in Liberia through its incubation programme, while 100 university graduates have successfully gotten internships through SMART Liberia’s Job Readiness programme. In addition to these landmark projects, the organisation has hosted several other events in entrepreneurial spaces, reaching over 2,000 people.
“There were a lot of leadership lessons and seminars that I attended that tremendously impacted me in a positive way. I also made a lot of connections at the Summit, and some of these people were very useful in helping me figure things out and set things up. So I would say the knowledge and the network were two of the most important benefits of the Summit.”
