About Our Founder

Sylvester Renner is the Founder and President of Develop Africa, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit he established in 2006 after a defining encounter on Howe Street in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Walking past a young girl crouching on the roadside, asking passersby for food, he felt something shift. That moment — one child, eye-level with indifference — compressed into a calling he could not ignore.

He returned to the United States not with charity, but with a conviction: that education, not dependency, is the path to lasting change. In January 2006, that conviction became Develop Africa.

Twenty years later, Develop Africa has deployed over $3.3 million in resources, awarded more than 1,260 scholarships, and provided school supplies to over 124,700 children in Sierra Leone. What began with one founder, one belief, and modest early fundraising has grown into a two-decade institution with a Candid Platinum Seal, GlobalGiving Superstar status, and a Charity Navigator rating.

Early Impact

In the beginning, fundraising was modest — but the impact was meaningful.

Isata was found selling charcoal in Freetown at age eleven — too old for the grade she should have been in, with no path forward in sight. Our Sierra Leone coordinator enrolled her in the scholarship program. She attended Freetown Secondary School for Girls, sat for her WASSCE exams, and, in 2026, completed cosmetology and technical-vocational training — building a trade, a livelihood, and a future on her own terms.

Thomascia, from a single-mother home, remained in school even after her mother passed away because support arrived when it mattered most.

These early interventions confirmed what would become the heart of Develop Africa's model: education, training, and sustained human investment are the most powerful pathways to independence.

A Foundation in Service

Sylvester grew up in Sierra Leone in a well-educated, middle-class family and completed his undergraduate degree at Fourah Bay College — the oldest university in West Africa — without financial hardship. While there, he served as Vice President of the Bible Study Union and as President of Child Aid, a local nonprofit supporting disadvantaged children.

After graduation, he worked as an Administrative Assistant with Rural Development Service (RDS), a local nonprofit collaborating with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Sierra Leone. In this role, he gained early exposure to nonprofit systems, cross-organizational coordination, and international program implementation.

After moving to the United States in 1995 and earning his MBA from Bowling Green State University in 1998, he built a professional career in IT management. These dual tracks — nonprofit leadership and institutional IT management — shaped the systems-driven approach that defines Develop Africa's operating model today.

These experiences shaped his understanding that effective nonprofit operations require both compassion and structure — a conviction that runs through every program that Develop Africa delivers.

Cross-Cultural Experience

Sylvester has lived and worked in Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and the United States, developing a deep appreciation for cross-cultural leadership and the realities of implementing programs across borders and communities. He has also studied and traveled extensively in Europe and across the African continent.

This perspective continues to inform Develop Africa's commitment to community-led solutions, locally rooted partnerships, and programs designed from the ground up — not imposed from the outside.

Growth Through Challenge

Building a nonprofit over twenty years has required persistence, humility, and resilience. There have been seasons of slow progress and difficult decisions — including the 2014 Ebola crisis, which killed the parents of 21 sponsored children and led Develop Africa to open an emergency orphanage, later responsibly wound down as children were placed with families and adopted.

During the pandemic, Develop Africa strengthened its systems, deepened communication with supporters, and refined its focus squarely on Sierra Leone. 

Today, Develop Africa continues to grow — supported by committed donors, trusted partnerships, and a track record that speaks for itself.

Above: Providing hands-on computer training at our first Excel training session at the Stadium Hostel in Freetown, Sierra Leone, 2006.

Support Sylvester's Work

Featured Videos

In April 2021, Sylvester participated in an international panel discussion hosted by Xcelerate NC on the topic: "Education In The Times Of The Pandemic And The Way Forward." 
See a PDF summary of Sylvester's comments  |  Watch on YouTube

In 2008, Melissa Hipolit of WJHL-TV in Johnson City, Tennessee interviewed Sylvester about how and why he founded Develop Africa — and why education is the most powerful tool for national development.

Books by Sylvester Renner

Mission to Systems™: A Nonprofit Leader's Guide to Building Institutions That Last

Sylvester's most recent book draws on twenty years of nonprofit leadership, IT management, and field experience to offer a practical framework for building durable, mission-driven organizations. Written for nonprofit founders, executive directors, and board members who are ready to move from passion to institutional strength.

Buy on Amazon  |  Download PDF  |  MissionToSystems.com

Sticks in a Bundle Cannot Be Broken

Buy eBook on Amazon / Kindle 
Buy eBook on Smashwords (Multiple formats)

How Mr. Cat Fell Out With Mr. Rat and Other Stories

Buy eBook on Amazon / Kindle 
Buy on iTunes / iPad 
Buy eBook on Smashwords (Multiple formats)