Ciré Kane

Ciré Kane has developed an innovative model that provides personal support to help cultivate young leaders, with the hope that their success will serve as an example to their peers. His goal is to bring together a critical mass of diverse young people that are all committed to improve their society in innovative and entrepreneurial ways.

Ciré founded the Synapse Center to offer programs to help youth develop and implement Changemaker ideas. He assists these emerging young leaders to achieve a needed financial balance and leave a meaningful impact on their communities. Through a selection process, training and support programs, Ciré successfully identifies the potential of exceptional and unique youths in Segal and Mali. These processes are constantly evolving and capitalize on lessons learned from his interaction and exchanges with young people. Because no one can predict with certainty where tomorrow’s leaders will emerge, Ciré believes it is important to sow the seeds wherever possible. Thus, regardless of their social background, Ciré gives young entrepreneurs an opportunity to thrive. By supporting young social entrepreneurs, Ciré is establishing a process of empowerment that helps them to define social problems and act with developed strategy. He hopes to contribute to the development of West African countries by reducing external dependence, making citizens the contributors and architects of their country’s future.

There are currently no organizations in Senegal or Mali that enable young social entrepreneurs to gather to exchange and test their ideas, acquire additional training, and find a suitable environment to implement their projects. Without an organization to provide capacity-building adapted to their needs and stage of development, youths rarely emerge as true entrepreneurs.

The selection processes through which Ciré discovers young leaders is based on his personal networks as well as nominations by experts in various fields. The reliability of this process enables him to discover passionate youth that are determined to make their projects successful.

Structurally, his organization takes two approaches when assisting young leaders. First, the support system focuses on the material, by providing an office and administrative support to those he sponsors. Secondly, it includes personal development support through mentoring and training in management and accounting. He also provides a network for emerging leaders to learn from, including the program, Entrepreneurs Without Borders, and students from the HEC School of Management in France, who help young entrepreneurs develop their business plans and to move towards implementation.

Ciré enhances the impact of his activities by serving as a liaison with other organizations supporting similar work throughout the world. His model proved to be so successful that it was adopted by the Artemisia Foundation in Brazil, which also supports his activities. After successful work in Senegal and Mali, his model has been adopted by organizations in Brazil and France.

Before graduating with a degree psychology and education, Ciré participated in a leadership training program hosted by the international organization, Pioneers of Change. This time helped shape his decision to devote his life to service and to particularly support young people.

After completing his studies, Ciré wanted to pursue a career in education, but instead of going to the Ministry of Education, he created an organization.

Ciré is an active member of several youth networks including the Berkana Institute and Pioneers of Change.