Africa Legal Support Facility

The Africa Legal Support Facility and the East Africa Law Society have entered into an agreement for the implementation of an African wide capacity building program known a’The ALSF Academy’. The Program will focus on select ‘Key Sectors’ including mining, oil and gas, power, infrastructure, and PPPs (transport, other non-power infrastructure, and services), Sovereign Debt (bond issuances, currency risk hedging, and creditor litigation). The tailored training program will target not only legal practice professionals but also government officials, key sector professionals, academics and members of the civil society. Completion of the program will lead to certification and accreditation!

Overview of the Program

The Africa Legal Support Facility Academy offers a distinct training program for each key sector consisting of a combination of national and regional workshops as well as e-training (together referred to as ‘Courses’). The e-training is available under the Africa Legal Support Facility Academy Capacity Building Portal. Each course will be accredited under the Africa Legal Support Facility Academy Accreditation Process and will provide participants with a number of credits upon completion.
Each training program is divided into three stages: Introductory, Intermediary, and Advanced Levels.

Introductory level (Level 1)

This level will introduce a participant to the basics of transaction management, project finance as well as the structure /specificity of each ‘key sector’ under study e.g, principal industry actors, typical financing structures, interests of the different parties involved etc. At this level focus will be on (i) the rationale for the involvement of private parties in the ‘Key Sector’, (ii) the different procurement processes required to select the private party, (iii) the various aspects of the transaction or litigation, (iv) the negotiation (or litigation) dynamics and key points.
To successfully complete the introductory level, the participant will be required to accumulate a certain number of credits.

Intermediary level (Level 2)

Upon completion of the introductory level, participants who will have accumulated the requisite number of credits will proceed to the intermediate level courses. Building on the knowledge acquired through the introductory level courses, participants will attend trainings with a similar format and sometimes similar topics but in a more in-depth manner and greater focus on African case studies to illustrate the learning material. This level will cover the interplay between commercial transactions, policy, regulatory and legal frameworks.
To successfully complete the intermediary level, the participant will be required to accumulate a certain number of credits and to pass a multiple choice examination. Completion of this level will guarantee a participant the capacity to lead a project/transaction in the key sector and to manage the input of experts for the various aspects of the project/transaction.

Advanced level (Level 3)

Upon completion of the intermediary level, participants will be invited to select between 3 different training profiles: legal, financial and policy.

The legal profile focuses on the legal aspects of a transaction/project, with particular focus on risk allocation and bankability issues.
The financial profile will focus on the financial aspects of a transaction/project.
The policy profile will focus on the drafting and deployment of government policies in the key sector.

To successfully complete the advanced level, the participant will be required to accumulate a certain number of credits and to pass an in-person examination (oral and written). The oral examination will be before a panel of peer experts, who will also decide whether the participant has successfully passed the written examination. At the completion of the advanced level, the participant will be expected to have the capacity to advise government as a legal or financial expert for a key sector transaction/project or as policy expert in drafting and deploying effective key sector policies.

Certification and accreditation:

A certificate will be issued upon completion of each stage based on assessment criteria above.
Note: Governments requesting training for their negotiation teams may also be invited to register their officials for the three level certification program for the key sectors they are interested in.

Key partners:

1. African Development Bank (AfDB)
2. African Business Law Firms Association (ABFLA)
3. African Institute of International Law (AIIL)
4. The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
5. Southern African Development Community Lawyers Association (SADCLA)
6. International Centre in Africa for Francophone Lawyers