Best known in Latin, these words first summoned the courage of ancient Greek warriors, then stirred the hearts of Roman legions. But on a hopeful spring day, April 19, 2008, they took on new meaning.
That day, beneath the quiet majesty of Mount Washington, 32 young African visionaries, the first Harambeans, gathered to forge a different kind of legacy. Not one of conquest, but of collaboration. Not one of dominion, but of daring. Bound by a collective oath “to work together as one,” we chose to believe “the Africa our generation desires can be won.”
The phrase is often translated simply: Fortune favors the bold. But in our inaugural address, we turned to a profound truth hidden in the Latin: Fortune favors the audentes, the audacious, those who dare to act. We reflected then, as we do now, on a truth echoed across history: that progress is rarely inherited, it is built. And that sometimes, sheer audacity is what makes the improbable inevitable.
Seventeen years later, that founding impulse has not faded, it is flourishing. What began with 32 Harambeans has grown to over 400 changemakers who have mobilized more than $2 billion to create jobs and opportunities across Africa. And along the way, we have learned a deeper truth: that courage is not innate, it is ignited. It does not arise in isolation, but in community. Like a standing ovation, it begins with one bold step and grows as others rise in turn.
Harambeans do not discover bravery alone. We awaken it in each other.
This fourth edition of The Harambean Way bears witness to that awakening. Within its pages, you’ll encounter the spirit of the audentes, those who are transforming bold dreams into enduring impact across Africa:
- You’ll meet Arjun Parameswaran H’24 and Leana de Beer H’25, who are dismantling the notion that insurance and education are reserved for the few.
- You’ll be inspired by Hilda Moraa H’23 and Tesh Mbaabu H’20, who turned conflict into collaboration, modeling the very unity we champion at our Global Summit.
- You’ll learn how Iyinoluwa Aboyeji H’10 and Melvin Lubega H’16, having built some of Africa’s most successful ventures, are now moving from founders to funders, recycling their wealth and wisdom to uplift the next generation of builders.
These stories are not exceptions. They are the natural harvest of a culture rooted in shared courage and sustained conviction.
As new storms gather on the horizon, it is this same courage – shared, steady, and rising – that gives me confidence. Confidence that we, as an Alliance, will continue the work we began on that hopeful spring day: to build a peaceful and prosperous Africa.
Anchored ever deeper in our shared conviction that “yet in the end, the Africa our generation desires can be won.” For in the end, as in our beginning, Fortune favors those who dare to act.