A2S is honored to welcome Professor Ken Menkhaus as a featured speaker at Soulful Supper 2026. A Professor of Political Science at Davidson College and the newly appointed Franco Director of the Franco Program on Public Policy & Research, Professor Menkhaus brings decades of scholarship, field experience, and personal engagement with Africa to this year’s conversation.
Since joining Davidson in 1991, Professor Menkhaus has established himself as an internationally respected scholar on Africa, development, humanitarianism, conflict, governance, and state-building. His work extends well beyond the classroom. He has served as a consultant and advisor to the United Nations, the World Bank, the U.S. Government, nongovernmental organizations, policy institutions, and private-sector leaders. He has also provided expert testimony before congressional subcommittees and shared his insights through major international media outlets.
His connection to A2S is also personal. As a former member of the A2S Board of Directors, Professor Menkhaus has witnessed the organization’s growth and understands both our mission and the Christian faith that inspires our work in Nigeria.
At Soulful Supper, Professor Menkhaus will challenge us to consider Africa through a different lens. Africa is home to one of the world’s youngest populations and extraordinary reserves of talent, creativity, enterprise, and leadership. Yet too often, the continent is presented primarily through narratives of poverty, crisis, and dependence.
Drawing on his decades of experience studying and engaging with Africa, Professor Menkhaus will explore Africa as one of the greatest opportunities for faithful investment in human potential in our generation, with Nigeria offering a powerful example of what can happen when that investment is made.
He will examine why traditional aid alone cannot unlock Africa’s future and why meaningful change requires sustained investment in education, career development, entrepreneurship, local leadership, wellness, and strong institutions. Most importantly, he will invite us to think differently about what it means to invest in people—not simply as recipients of assistance, but as leaders, creators, and stewards of their communities’ futures.
This perspective closely reflects the heart of A2S. We believe every person is created in the image of God and entrusted with gifts that carry purpose and possibility. Christian compassion calls us to meet urgent needs, but it must also lead us toward relationships and investments that restore dignity, expand opportunity, cultivate agency, and equip people to steward their God-given abilities.
We see this vision taking shape every day through A2S in Benin City, Nigeria, where we walk alongside children, university students, young professionals, and entrepreneurs as they develop their gifts and build pathways toward purpose and prosperity.
What begins in the life of one young person can influence a family, strengthen a community, and contribute to the future of Nigeria and Africa. Investing in that person is more than a development strategy. It is an act of faith and godly stewardship.
Join us September 19 at Project 658 to hear Professor Ken Menkhaus share his perspective on Africa’s future, Nigeria’s extraordinary potential, and our shared Christian responsibility to invest in what God has placed within people. To buy tickets, please visit: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/soulfulsupper/
