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When Rozy Rana, a Nairobi resident, first joined Toastmasters, in 2005, there were only two clubs in Kenya. There were barely a handful in all of East Africa. But she was instantly captivated by the Toastmasters program and knew that had to change.
She and other passionate leaders led the drive to build clubs and enthusiasm. It took time, training, and persistently steering past hurdles, but by the end of the 2010s, East Africa was on a roll. Between 2017 and 2019, it tripled its amount of clubs, from 17 to 51. Comprising Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, the East Africa Territorial Council became District 114 in 2020.
“Toastmasters fever here was at its peak,” says Rana, DTM, the founding chair of the Territorial Council.
The turnaround in East Africa mirrors the larger transformation of Toastmasters throughout the continent over the past 15 years. Africa has become one of the fastest-growing regions in the world.
West Africa, for example, had 76 clubs in 2014; by 2024, that number had skyrocketed to 312, a staggering 310% increase. Southern Africa went from 125 clubs in 2011 to 155 in 2014, and then reached 245 clubs by 2024, a 60% jump in that 10-year span.
By comparison, all other Districts in the world had a cumulative growth rate of minus 3.1% over that same 2014–2024 period.
In 2024, not one but two Districts in Africa reformed, having each hit the 250-club mark. They split into four Districts across Southern, Western, and Central Africa.
Reasons for this dramatic rise include greater visibility, changing demographics, and plain old passion and enthusiasm—members sharing a strong belief in the benefits of Toastmasters.
Rana, a member of Eazy Speak Toastmasters Club in Nairobi, recalls the exhilaration of working with other leaders to bring Districthood to East Africa.
“We were so psyched up. We ate, drank, and breathed Toastmasters,” she says.
Proud People
African Districts, spread across Region 11, have succeeded not only with growth but with performance; they have consistently thrived in the Distinguished District Program. Toastmasters leaders on the continent are quick to note that much of this success has occurred with considerably less resources than other countries.
Excitement and pride have surged along with the climbing numbers, especially as Africa has been spotlighted on the Toastmasters stage. The continent has enjoyed more international representation from World Champions of Public Speaking, Region Advisors, and International Directors. In the past 10 years, there have been eight Region Advisors and three International Directors from Africa, including current Director Patrick Oluyide, DTM, of Nigeria.
International Director Patrick Oluyide, DTM, elaborates on Africa's growth.
In 2021, Verity Price, DTM, AS, of Cape Town, South Africa, became the first African to win the World Championship of Public Speaking.
(The following year the title went to Cyril Junior Dim, who was living in Poland but was born and raised in Zimbabwe, and his championship speech highlighted his African identity.)
Then in 2025, South African Aletta Rochat, DTM, became the first African member installed as the Toastmasters International President.
“Everything I learned in Toastmasters started in South Africa, and I am a product of the beautiful people here,” says Rochat, an 18-year member. “People often underestimate Africa, but we know the talent, courage, and commitment that lives here.”
An Influential Visit
Toastmasters leaders point to a 2010 visit from then-International President Pat Johnson, DTM, as a catalyst for the subsequent upswing in Southern Africa. Progress in the region had been slow or sporadic for many years, but when Johnson came to South Africa, she talked about the untapped potential of the region, motivating District leaders to create ambitious multi-year plans and collaborate more effectively than before, says Frank Tsuro, DTM, of Zimbabwe, Region 11 Advisor in 2021–2022, and International Director in 2023–2025.
For most of Africa’s history, South Africa—where the first club on the continent formed in 1950—was the main hub of Toastmasters activity there. But after Johnson’s visit, leaders were determined to invest effort in other countries too, places where communities of clubs had yet to blossom.
“We were almost like missionaries,” Tsuro recalls with a smile.
Listen to The Toastmasters Podcast to hear more from Frank Tsuro, DTM.
New Leadership
Another key to success in Africa has been changing demographics. When Tsuro became the District 74 (Southern Africa) Director in 2018, he was 27 and the first person of color to hold that position, a milestone that inspired a new generation of leaders.
“I think a lot of people saw themselves in me, whether they were people of color or whether they were young,” Tsuro says, noting that Africa has a very young and diverse population.
Since that time, District leaders in Southern Africa have represented a mix of races and ages. The Director of District 129 (also in Southern Africa), Ravin Papiah, is an Indian Mauritian and the first person from the island nation of Mauritius to hold a District Director position in Africa.
International President Rochat says African leadership “transformed completely. When I first joined, leadership positions were still largely held by white people. And then as these young leaders like Frank came in and there were a couple of others and Andrew [Frank’s brother, Andrew Tsuro, DTM, of South Africa, was 26 when he became the District 74 Director]. Suddenly, everybody came in. And if you look at the leadership now, it’s young, it’s vibrant, it’s mostly people of color, and they are just on fire.
“I love working with them because they’re just so enthusiastic.”
West African Surge
As with Pat Johnson’s visit to South Africa, a 2013 visit from then-International President John Lau, DTM, at a Toastmasters conference in the country of Togo helped spur growth in West Africa, say leaders there.
Dunstanette Macauley, DTM, a Toastmaster in Togo since 2009, says Lau could see the enthusiasm of West African members, how they “were burning with fire for Toastmasters.” Lau was very supportive of their efforts, and just a few months later, West Africa became Provisional District 94 and then a full District in 2016.
Toastmasters like Macauley, who served as the 2018–2019 Region Advisor, and Nadine Mbikina, DTM, the 2023–2024 District 94 Director, helped blaze trails in the area. Growth was particularly intense in French-speaking countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Togo, Macauley notes.
People in French-speaking countries “found the answer to their longing for self-development and public speaking,” she says. “Toastmasters was what they needed, and there was no stopping them. While the English-speaking countries slowed down, the French-speaking countries could not stop growing. Our District is now about 90% French speaking.”
In 2024, with the amount of clubs ballooning, District 94 reformed into Districts 94 and 130. The latter covers Western and Central Africa and includes such countries as Cameroon, Congo, and Nigeria.
The momentum keeps going, adds Macauley, who sponsored the first English-speaking club in Togo. Sierra Leone, which had been the only English-speaking country left in Africa that didn’t have a Toastmasters club, is now on the verge of opening two clubs.
Macauley, a Past District Governor who splits her time between Togo and New York, has been a fervent advocate for Toastmasters. Seeing the expansion of Toastmasters in her area of the world has made all her efforts more than worthwhile, she says.
“I have received a lot of return on my investment in Toastmasters.”
Meanwhile, Rana, the East Africa leader, says she and her fellow members are ecstatic about the prominent role Toastmasters now has on their continent—and sees more growth and success still ahead.
“Africa is the new frontier,” she says.
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Southern Africa’s Recipe for Growth
Paul Sterman is senior editor, executive and editorial content, for Toastmasters International. Reach him at psterman@toastmasters.org.
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