The Aspire Leaders Program – reaching a million future leaders to change the world.

From a seed of inspiration at Harvard Business School, the Aspire Leaders Program has become a global movement empowering first-generation and low-income students. Founded by Professors Tarun Khanna and Karim Lakhani, and nurtured through the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Aspire has grown from an experimental program in Dubai in 2017 into an independent nonprofit—the Aspire Institute—with nearly 500,000 alumni worldwide.

Through innovative online modules, transformative in-person experiences, and regional hubs (“Foundries”) in places like Lahore, Delhi, São Paulo, and Istanbul, Aspire is building a global community of young leaders ready to tackle challenges from digital transformation to climate change. With a bold goal of reaching 1 million students annually by 2027, Aspire is demonstrating how education, mentorship, and opportunity can change lives at scale.

I just published a full article on this amazing program on Forbes.com—read it here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanpenprase/2025/08/31/the-aspire-leaders-program-from-harvard-inspiration-to-global-movement/

Aspire Leaders Alumni gathering at the Peru Alumni Meetup & Expert Talk with Miguel Montalvan (social media influencer) and Gabriel Gonzales-Daly (Head of Page Executive Peru) on June, 14 2025. The Aspire Leaders Program has over 2,000 alumni from Peru. Image credit – Aspire Institute