--- title: "Home" description: "— A Hospital Couldn’t Open Without Us. A Ministry Fought Corruption With Us.The African Union Trusted Us With a Generation. For over a decade, the Center for African Leadership Studies has trained 200,000+ leaders across 14 African countries — not with theory, but with the kind of leadership development institutions turn to when failure is […]" url: "https://mycals.net/" date_modified: "2026-07-09T17:28:46+00:00" --- ## — A Hospital Couldn't Open Without Us. ## A Ministry Fought Corruption With Us. The African Union Trusted Us With a Generation. For over a decade, the Center for African Leadership Studies has trained 200,000+ leaders across 14 African countries — not with theory, but with the kind of leadership development institutions turn to when failure is not an option. [See What We've Built](https://mycals.net/impact/) [Read our story](https://mycals.net/who-we-are/) ![01_founding-story-ring (2)](https://mycals.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/01_founding-story-ring-2.png) ![01_founding-story-ring (2)](https://mycals.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/01_founding-story-ring-2.png) --- 200000+ - Leaders Trained 14 - African countries 13 - Universities partnered 2000+ - AU youth leaders --- ![image (27)](https://mycals.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/image-27.png) ## "Everything rises and falls with leadership." ## The sermon that redirected a life, 2000 ## — Who we are ## Leadership Was Never a Theory Here. It Was Survival. Tewodros Tadesse Araya didn’t learn leadership in a classroom. He learned it watching his mother raise six children through famine and war while his father sat in prison. In 2012, that lived experience became CALS — not a copy of a Western leadership model, but an answer built for the realities African institutions actually face. ## "It wasn't a new idea to him — it was a description of his mother." [Read the full story](https://mycals.net/who-we-are/) --- ## — Featured Programs ## Nine Ways We've Proven Leadership Can Be Taught, Not Just Hoped For [See All Nine Programs](https://mycals.net/programs/) ## Healthcare Leadership Program Before Ethio Turkish Hospital saw its first patient, every doctor and nurse on staff had already been through CALS. Now expanding to 15 hospitals across Ethiopia. Read More ## Youth Leadership Development Program The African Union doesn’t outsource its youth strategy lightly. We’ve nurtured 2,000+ young leaders across the continent over the past decade — and we’re not done. Read More ## Leadership Garage A monthly gathering where leaders learn from leaders who’ve actually been tested. Once a year, it becomes a two-day immersion that goes deeper than any single lecture could. Read More ## Organizational Leadership Assessment We don’t walk in with answers. We walk in with questions — honest, data-driven ones — and let what we find determine what comes next. Read More [See All Nine Programs](https://mycals.net/programs/) --- ## — Our Approach ## Three rounds, one coffee ceremony. [Read our Story](#) ## 01 ## Assessment Honest information about each leader’s strengths, limitations, and growth opportunities — before anything else is decided. ## 02 ## Challenge Disrupting comfort zones and naming the gap between current skills and what the moment actually demands. ## 03 ## Nonstop Updates We strive to innovate when it comes to functionality. Our mission is to be the best, come and join the ride. 01 Assessment Honest information about each leader’s strengths, limitations, and growth opportunities — before anything else is decided. 02 Challenge Disrupting comfort zones and naming the gap between current skills and what the moment actually demands. 03 Nonstop Updates We strive to innovate when it comes to functionality. Our mission is to be the best, come and join the ride. Our coaching methodology is rooted in Ethiopian cultural tradition — the coffee ceremony: a space of trust, unhurried conversation, and genuine human connection. We do not import foreign models. We build on what already exists in our people. --- ## — Featured Partner Story ## When the Fight Against Corruption Needed a Leadership Strategy In 2018, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance didn’t need another training seminar. It needed leaders willing to confront institutional culture head-on. CALS designed ‘Character Formation in the Fight Against Corruption’ — a 90-day initiative that asked managers to do more than attend. It asked them to change.The result wasn’t a certificate. It was a roadmap for sustained reform — and proof that leadership development, done seriously, can move an institution’s culture, not just its org chart. [Read More Stories Like This](https://mycals.net/success-stories/) --- ## — Our Trusted Partner ## Institutions That Couldn't Afford to Get This Wrong ![auweblogo-en](https://mycals.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/auweblogo-en.png) ![image (17)](https://mycals.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/image-17.png) ![image (13)](https://mycals.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/image-13.png) ![image (14)](https://mycals.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/image-14.png) ![image (17)](https://mycals.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/image-17.png) ![image (28)](https://mycals.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/image-28.png) ![image (28)](https://mycals.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/image-28.png) ![image (29)](https://mycals.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/image-29.png) ![HEINEKEN-Ethiopia-Logo-Amharic-300x137](https://mycals.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/HEINEKEN-Ethiopia-Logo-Amharic-300x137-1.png) ![image (32)](https://mycals.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/image-32.png) ![image (31)](https://mycals.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/image-31.png) --- ## — Customer Reviews ## What our client says Hear from individuals who decided to take their organizations to another level by partnering with us for leadership development. My organization has grown a lot a a result of the trainings that were attended by both myself and my team. CALS is truly a testament to what can happen when experts come together to make an impact on industries all over Ethiopia and also globally. Hannes Garber "CALS didn't hand us a workshop. They sat with our leadership team long enough to name the things nobody wanted to say out loud — and then stayed to help us fix them." Hannes Garber "We've sent staff through leadership trainings before. This was the first one where people came back different — not just certified, but changed in how they made decisions." Hannes Garber --- ## — Center for African Leadership Studies ## International & Government Partnerships [Explore more Partnerships](#) ## United Nations ## Read More ## African Union Commission ## Read More ## Ethiopian Government Ministries ## Read More ## Diplomatic Missions ## Read More ## Academic & Research ## Read More ## Private Sector ## Read More --- ## Your Institution's Next Crisis Will Be a Leadership Crisis. Let's Talk Before it is. [Work With CALS](https://mycals.net/contact-us/) [Explore Our Programs](https://mycals.net/programs/) --- ## — Our Founding Story ## Our Events [Explore more Events](#) ## Urre March 11, 2022 The Center for African Leadership Studies, in collaboration with the የሴቶች፣ሕፃናትና ወጣቶች ሚኒስቴር Ministry of Women Children and Youth, gave training on leadership and entrepreneurship … ## Read More [Events](https://mycals.net/category/events/) [Past Events](https://mycals.net/category/events/past-events/) ## Urre March 11, 2022 CALS was honored to be invited to present by the Civil Service Commission this week. Our founder Tewodros Tadesse gave a presentation on the topic … ## Read More [Events](https://mycals.net/category/events/) [Past Events](https://mycals.net/category/events/past-events/) ## Urre March 11, 2022 CALS is very pleased to continue our work with the Swedish Embassy Addis. Our trainers and facilitators, Tewodros Tadesse, Elias Gizachew, and Adam Sahilu gave … ## Read More [Events](https://mycals.net/category/events/) [Past Events](https://mycals.net/category/events/past-events/)