Our first regional newsletter - Africa
Dear Vegan Leader,
Welcome to our first regional newsletter for Vegan Corporate Professionals across Africa from Vegan Leaders in Corporate Management (VLCM). My name is Abubakar Sulaiman Umar, and I'm thrilled to be your Regional Engagement Manager for Africa. Based in Gombe, Nigeria, I'm passionate about fostering a vibrant and connected community of vegan professionals throughout our diverse continent. This newsletter is designed to be a hub for connection, inspiration, and shared success as we champion plant-based initiatives in our workplaces and beyond.
🌱 Why this newsletter?
Many of us aspire to:
Be agents of change to promote sustainable, healthful, and compassionate eating in and beyond our workplaces.
Meaningfully connect with other vegans for social support and professional collaboration.
The goal of this newsletter is to help us inspire change locally and connect those of us who live near one another.
We are pleased to share that the VLCM LinkedIn Group now includes over 100 members spread across 54 countries in Africa. Displayed below is the geographic distribution. By clicking on this interactive map, you can zoom in and select a specific area of interest.
For member privacy, we’re sharing just member numbers rather than names. However, if you’d like a few individual contacts for networking, you can enter your request here. At VLCM, we like to see these kinds of requests:
Names of other vegans working at the same company as you to start a plant-based employee group
Names of other vegan professionals in your country or area to make new friends
🌱 Want to inspire a positive change in your workplace?
Consider presenting the idea of your workplace adopting the model Greener By Default, in which plant-based meals become the default with meat and dairy available on request. Many companies are eager to implement sustainable policies and this program is an effective way to do just that. Companies like LinkedIn have successfully implemented this model (see video), cutting meat intake by half through the program.
You could also consider proposing the idea to other sustainably-minded employees and sign the email from all of you to show broader support for the initiative.
Please feel free to copy and paste this template to your manager to advocate for Greener by Default in your workplace.
📣 Upcoming Events & News in Africa
Upcoming Events:
AVA Summit Africa: Scheduled for July 17-20, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya, this summit aims to bring together advocates, organizations, and changemakers to promote animal freedom and rights across the continent.
The Good Life Show: This event showcases plant-based, free-from, natural, organic, wellness, and sustainable products. It will take place in Johannesburg, August 1-3, 2025.
If you are too far from either of these events, I encourage you to search online for "vegan event [your city/country] 2025" to see if anything is coming up in your location.
News and Trends:
Veganuary 2025: ProVeg South Africa is actively promoting the Veganuary campaign, encouraging individuals to embrace a plant-based lifestyle for January and beyond.
Sustainable Food Systems: There's a growing focus across Africa on developing sustainable food systems, promoting plant-based diets, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
