Transforming Leadership in Africa: The Bold Vision Behind A+ Coaching

Sometimes, a personal breakthrough sparks a mission with social impact. That was the case for Adama Gorou, a seasoned media professional who saw untapped human potential in Africa and believed that everyone deserves guidance to discover who they are, where they’re going, and how to get there.

This belief gave rise to A+ Coaching, a firm that supports managers and senior leaders to grow their leadership capabilities and strengthen their organisational culture, with a focus on soft skills and human-centred leadership.

“Our goal is simple but powerful: to build healthy, positive, high-performing workplaces where people can thrive and bring their best selves. That requires ethical, inspiring, and deeply human leadership.”

Before joining AMI’s Aspire programme, Adama was driven by creativity and intuition but struggled with planning and financial management. Dashboards, metrics, and forecasts felt distant from his day-to-day work and limited his ability to see the full picture of his business growth.

Aspire changed that.

“What Aspire gave me was the shift I needed. I realised that growth doesn’t happen through energy or creativity alone. It takes structure, a clear vision, a real action plan, and the right tools to steer the business forward.”

Through the programme, Adama gained a structured, practical approach to leadership and growth, supported by real-world tools that helped him clarify his decisions and implement them effectively. The peer learning experience, exchanging ideas with other entrepreneurs, was a powerful source of motivation and insight.

“For me, Aspire delivered the essence of business in a way that was highly practical and directly applicable. It cuts through the noise and gets to the heart of what leaders really need: strategic vision, team management, financial clarity, and leadership, all covered in a way that’s digestible, human, and grounded in our African realities.”

Aspire also helped Adama and his team segment their clients and break down their revenue by category. This gave them a clearer view of profitability, allowing for more strategic commercial decisions and better risk management.

“We were able to categorise our clients and track revenue by segment. That gave us insight into who our most profitable clients were, how things evolved year over year, and what decisions to make next.”

This sharpened positioning has led to significant growth, with some strategic contracts accounting for up to 30% of annual revenue. A+ Coaching continues to be selective, choosing partners aligned with its values and long-term vision. The firm is now expanding across Côte d’Ivoire and the wider region, while developing new formats to deepen its impact.

“I can confidently say we’ve experienced meaningful growth not just in revenue, but in the opportunities we’re able to pursue. One contract alone last year accounted for nearly 30% of our typical annual revenue.”

Today, A+ Coaching has a team of seven, mainly young professionals and women, with plans to hire in business development and project management. To stay agile, Adama also partners with a network of experienced consultants who join on demand. Thanks to Aspire, he’s built strong internal systems for delegation and staff development.

“One of the biggest lessons from Aspire was learning to work on the business, not just in it. I’ve since developed structured processes that allow me to delegate effectively and focus on growth.”

Beyond growing his business, Adama is investing in the next generation of leaders. He regularly trains young professionals and is preparing a new initiative aimed at emerging managers to foster a new kind of leadership: human, responsible, and deeply impactful.

Aspire didn’t just offer tools, it opened new networks. A+ Coaching has since connected with entrepreneurs across the continent, expanding their perspective, sparking innovation, and building a pan-African vision of leadership transformation.

“As an entrepreneur, you can often feel alone in your decisions. Aspire gave me a structure, practical tools, and a community to help me evolve the business. What I appreciated most was the balance between the depth of content, the quality of tools, and the richness of conversations with other entrepreneurs. The platform was well designed, and the resources were instantly accessible. The tools were especially powerful, the kind you download and use right away, without needing to ‘translate’ them to your business. Just practical, real, and grounded.”