Nairobi, May 27 -- Monday evening at Standard Chartered headquarters did not feel like the end of a workday. The room was loud before the programme even started. Young professionals filled the seats, jackets still on, phones face down, conversations already running. Anyone who has ever been in a room full of ambitious young people knows the energy they carry. It is restless.

But this room was different.

Eric Karani was one of the faces. The 30-year-old works in financial services at an investment bank and walked in as a guest, brought along by a friend. He has heard about Toastmasters before, but never joined. He came because something at work was not working and he has been trying to figure it out.

"We all have degrees and technical s...