Barnabas Usman serves as Director of Sector Networks at the African Leadership Academy (ALA), a pan-African institution dedicated to identifying, developing, and connecting Africa's next generation of leaders to drive transformative change across the continent.

In his role at ALA, Barnabas provides strategic leadership for programmes that develop and connect emerging African talent with meaningful career opportunities and pathways to professional and leadership development across key sectors - the Arts, Agribusiness, Education, Governance, Health, Infrastructure, and Finance & Professional Services.

With over a decade of experience in international development, Barnabas brings expertise in programme leadership, strategic partnerships, government relations, workforce development, and institutional engagement. His career spans country-level leadership roles at One Acre Fund and VSO in Nigeria, where he has contributed to organisational strategy, programme expansion, institutional partnerships, and the design and delivery of development programmes across agriculture, education, health, livelihoods, governance, and youth development.

Barnabas holds postgraduate qualifications from Strathmore University Business School in Kenya, the University of Manchester, and the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom.