Awareness: Action-Oriented Economic Re-Education that Prioritizes the Black Experience
The Life We Deserve Foundation
Awareness is the spark that ignites transformation. This quarter, that spark reached more than 60 women across Kaduna State, Nigeria through our alum-led partner, The Life We Deserve Foundation, founded and directed by DIFFvelopment 2022 alum and African Programs Administrator, Abubakar Sani Abdullahi. Together, we delivered the SHEAdapt Project—an initiative that blends clean-energy innovation with DIFFvelopment’s historically grounded economic re-education.
A Baseline of Scarcity and Hidden Potential
When these women entered the program, their starting point reflected widespread socioeconomic vulnerability. Their Wealth Status Surveys (WSS) revealed limited monthly income, heavy responsibility for household expenses, low savings capacity, and little to no financial cushion. Many reported past financial hardship, including reliance on others for basic needs, carrying debt, and restricted access to income-generating opportunities. These indicators signaled what we know to be true across the global Black community: women are often positioned to carry the greatest burden while having the least access to economic tools that build long-term security.
The SheAdapt needs assessment deepened this picture. Nearly 50% relied on firewood and 47% on charcoal for cooking, with only 1.16% using gas—a reality tied to health challenges, high fuel costs, and environmental degradation. Even more telling, 71% had never heard of briquettes, underscoring how deeply structural barriers limit exposure to sustainable alternatives.
These combined insights made one thing clear: before economic mobility could be activated, historical awareness and mindset transformation had to occur.
DIFFvelopment Orientation: Awakening History, Identity, and Agency
Through DIFFvelopment’s exclusive cultural orientation, “Reclaiming African Healthy Cooking Wisdom,” participants explored the ancestral systems that shaped African culinary practices and examined how colonial disruption reshaped energy use, economic patterns, and health outcomes. Immediately following, Abubakar facilitated the Black Generational Wealth Workshop (BGWP)—a cornerstone of DIFFvelopment’s theory of change that teaches the origins of Black economic displacement, introduces wealth-building foundations, and reframes entrepreneurship as a vehicle for legacy.
Pre- and post-orientation responses showed clear mindset shifts: stronger confidence in financial decision-making, new awareness of generational wealth concepts, and a renewed belief in their ability to build something of their own.
From Awareness to Momentum
By the end of Phase Two, women had produced over 400 smokeless briquettes, received startup kits, and launched micro-enterprises grounded in cultural pride and climate resilience.
This is awareness in action—and a powerful affirmation of what becomes possible when re-education meets opportunity.
Advancement: Activated & Hungry to Effect Change
Consultrepreneurship
Advancement is where transformation becomes visible—where knowledge turns into action, confidence crystallizes into leadership, and vision begins to take shape in concrete, community-minded ways. This quarter, the 2025 Consultrepreneurs embodied this truth with exceptional clarity. Eight emerging leaders living in the US, Spain, Canada, and across the African continent completed DIFFvelopment’s intensive ten-week journey, stepping into the world not only equipped with new skills, but activated—ready to build, lead, and effect change in ways that honor their ancestors and uplift the global Black community.
From the earliest days of orientation, it was clear that this cohort was hungry for more than knowledge—they sought clarity, purpose, and a deeper connection to their historical and economic identity. On day one, Crystal Stevens shared, “At the end of day one, I feel extremely enlightened and informed”—a sentiment that echoed across the group as they engaged with DIFFvelopment’s historically grounded curriculum rooted in the truth of Black economic power, agency, and possibility.
As the program progressed, their commitment only deepened. By day three, Musa Salihu reflected, “Today’s session has widened my horizon of understanding . . . it made me understand the true meaning of generational wealth.”
His insight summarized what so many expressed throughout the course of the program: that understanding history is the key to interpreting the present—and reshaping the future.
The practicum phase brought these revelations into action. Working with a real business, each Consultrepreneur tested their consulting abilities, strengthened problem-solving skills, practiced cross-cultural communication, and built confidence in their capacity to add value. Duncan Mwangi summarized the shift powerfully: “I feel very empowered to be a consultant and to be able to establish my own business.”
This year’s cohort also demonstrated remarkable resilience and unity. As Crystal Stevens put it at the end of the journey, “I feel energized . . . I am extremely grateful for this opportunity.”
Their interconnectedness—the feeling of belonging to something bigger than themselves—became one of the cohort’s defining strengths.
Among these rising leaders, Aïssata Diop distinguished herself as the 2025 Best Performer. Her performance—marked by excellence in consulting, depth of historical understanding, commitment to collaboration, and clarity of purpose—exemplified the DIFFvelopment ethos. Her growth reflected not only her individual brilliance, but also the supportive learning ecosystem created by the cohort itself. Her achievement stands as a beacon of what is possible when talent, discipline, and historical awareness converge.
Collectively, the 2025 Consultrepreneurs leave the program with sharpened skills, expanded worldviews, and a renewed sense of responsibility. They are not simply graduates—they are activated leaders who understand that their brilliance is not just for themselves, but for their families, their communities, their countries, and the global Black collective.
Their advancement is not the end of a program. It is the beginning of impact.
Transformation: Developing Their World DIFFerently
The Council on Global Black Development
The most powerful evidence of DIFFvelopment’s transformative impact in 2025 came from the inaugural Council on Global Black Development (CGBD) Fellows—four emerging researchers who entered the year with questions about identity, history, and purpose, and completed it as visionary thought-leaders equipped to influence policy, education, and community strategy across the global Black world.
At the beginning of the program, Fellows expressed a deep desire to understand the “why” beneath the economic, social, and psychological patterns affecting Black communities worldwide. Many arrived with fragmented historical knowledge—aware of injustice, yet unsure how to connect this to the decisions Black people make in education, career, financial behavior, and communal life.
Over the course of the program, DIFFvelopment’s historically centered orientation challenged Fellows to confront the depth of global Black economic dispossession—while also immersing them in the legacy of resilience, innovation, and self-determination that has always existed within Black communities. Anchored in the data they collected from 120+ global participants, Fellows began to identify clear patterns: when Black people possess historical knowledge of self, their life decisions shift toward purpose, community uplift, and long-term wealth-building.
Their research illuminated four interconnected truths:
1. Historical Awareness Reshapes Educational Trajectories
Participants who understood their ancestral legacy pursued education not just for personal advancement, but as a tool for resistance, dignity, and liberation. One respondent captured it powerfully:
“As a Kissi from Liberia, I see education as a sacred responsibility[,] something my ancestors were once denied, yet dreamed of for the generations to come.”
2. Career Choices Become Purpose-Driven and Communal
Fellows found that Black individuals with high historical knowledge of self intentionally select careers aligned with service, equity, and advocacy.
“I have chosen to use my career not only as a means of personal success, but as a platform for communal empowerment.”
3. Financial Behavior Shifts Toward Generational Impact
Despite widespread gaps in formal financial knowledge, historical awareness sharpened participants’ desire to build wealth as a communal strategy—not an individual one.
“Ultimately, my heritage has taught me that building wealth as a Black person is not just about dollars—it’s about disrupting systems, reclaiming agency, and creating alternative pathways that honour our past while changing our future.”
4. Historical Knowledge of Self Generates a Deep Sense of Communal Responsibility
Across continents, participants saw their personal advancement as incomplete unless it created opportunities for others.
“I don’t see wealth as something to hoard, but as a tool to empower my family, community, and future generations.”
The Fellows’ Transformation
By the time they submitted their final research, the four Fellows had undergone their own profound shift. Their exit interviews reflected clarity, conviction, and a renewed mandate:
. . . [the program] made me consider how my future career decisions can help the Black community.
They emerged with actionable recommendations for schools, governments, NGOs, and families—proving that historically grounded research can produce practical, scalable solutions.
Their journey represents DIFFvelopment’s theory of change in motion: historical re-education transforms mindsets; transformed mindsets transform communities.
The 2025 CGBD Fellows did more than complete a research project—they stepped into the long lineage of global Black solution-builders. And in doing so, they embodied what it truly means to develop the world DIFFerently.
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Organizational Updates
Advancing DIFFvelopment’s 2026 Readiness
Throughout Q4, we made significant internal progress toward becoming “2026-ready,” including enhancements to program workflows, new standard operating procedure refinements, and development of stronger cross-team coordination tools. These behind-the-scenes improvements ensure we can deliver consistently across regions as our impact continues to grow.
Positioning DIFFvelopment for Global Scale
As we prepare for our next stage of growth—from expanded African programming to the broader rollout of the DIFF Center—we continue to prioritize thoughtful, integrity-based scale. Q4’s progress reflects our commitment to building long-term engines of impact that serve young Black leaders, strengthen communities, and advance historically rooted solutions across the Africa and the diaspora.
Fundraising Progress
Strengthening Multi-Year Partnerships for Long-Term Impact
In Q4, DIFFvelopment received the second-year rollout of Santander’s three-year commitment of $25,000 annually supporting the Consultrepreneurship Program and Lifelong Support Program. Their continued partnership enhances our ability to deliver high-quality, historically grounded programming that uplifts emerging Black visionaries and strengthens our alumni pipeline.
New Philanthropic Support Fuels Operational Stability
We are honored to have received a $5,000 unrestricted gift from the Ro Family Foundation. This contribution directly supports DIFFvelopment’s organizational health, enabling us to reinforce staffing capacity, streamline program operations, and expand global access to our offerings. Unrestricted support continues to be essential as we refine systems and build the infrastructure needed for sustainable scale.
How You Can Support Our Efforts
Does DIFFvelopment’s mission resonate with you? Join us in expanding our impact by empowering more aspiring Black visionaries to develop their world differently.
There are many ways to get involved:
- Invest in Our Growth: Your support helps us create sustainable personal, generational, and communal wealth-building opportunities.
- Professional Mentorship: Share your expertise to guide the next wave of Black leaders.
- Fundraising Collective: Partner with us to drive resources and grow our programs.
Fill out our Professional Mentorship & Fundraising Collective Enrollment Form and let us know how you’d like to contribute to DIFFvelopment’s mission. Together, we can shape a brighter future!