Arlette Ngo Badjeck

I Design What Doesn’t Yet Exist

I build what I can’t find.
When the models fall short, when the language doesn’t hold us, when the funding comes with strings, I don’t wait. I design alternatives.

I’m a strategist, systems thinker, and storyteller working at the intersection of feminist philanthropy, African mental health, and values-led communication.
Over the past 15+ years, I’ve worked across Africa and globally to shift narratives, redesign programs, and help organizations and funders move with more integrity, and more impact.

My work is rooted in proximity and powered by purpose. I created the TELEP Network to reimagine how funders center African vision and exit gracefully. I launched Of Trees and Butterflies to make African-centered mental health care visible, accessible, and led by us. When I felt that African women’ ordinary and extra-ordinary stories needed to be broadcasted to the world, I organized the TEDxCadjehounWomen conferences.

And I continue to support feminist movements, frontline orgs, and changemakers in building with clarity, without compromise.

I believe strategy should be soulful.
I believe care is infrastructure.
I believe exit is not the end, it’s part of the legacy.
And I believe in designing futures that weren’t built for us, but will be built by us.