2023 Mandela Washington Fellowship Applications Open – African Business

The U.S. Embassy in Madagascar, Comoros announced this week that the application process for the 2023 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders was open. The Fellowship is the flagship program of the U.S. government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). This prestigious program has been attended by 88 young leaders in Madagascar and 24 in the Comoros since 2014. Applications are accepted from emerging leaders aged 25-35 with a proven record of innovation and positive impact in their countries and communities.

“I gained a lot from Mandela Washington Fellowship (…) I will use the knowledge, lessons learned and best practices to improve my work, to develop my association, (…) to inspire and empower youth in my community, and to strengthen the leadership skills of the members of my association.” Kimmerling Razafindrina, a 2022 Mandela Washington Fellow, explained.

Fellows are required to participate in a six week leadership program at U.S. colleges and universities. The Fellows are then invited to Washington, D.C. for a summit where they can make connections with leaders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors. A group of Fellows from the competition will stay for four more weeks in the United States to work with non profit, private and public organizations.

Fellows return to their home countries to continue their learning with the support of the U.S. Department of State through U.S. Embassy and affiliated partners. Fellows have access ongoing professional development opportunities, mentoring and networking, training, community service and seed funding to support their ideas and businesses.

For more information on the Fellowship, including details on the application process and selection criteria, young leaders should visit mwfellows.info/apply .

September 13th is the last day for time-limited applications

The Mandela Washington Fellowship, a program of U.S. Department of State, is funded by the U.S. Government. It is administered by IREX. The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a program of the U.S. Department of State that does not discriminate on the basis or race, color, gender and religion.

Distributed by APO Group, U.S. Embassy Madagascar