Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders

The Fellowship is excited to announce that Freedom Mukanga, a 2022 alumnus from Zimbabwe, is the winner of the 2025 Leadership Impact Award! Learn more here: https://mwfellows.info/49QO5NU

2017 Fellowship Alumnus Richard Folly hosted the inaugural edition of Space Forum Africa on April 7-9 in Lomé, Togo. The event featured U.S. Speaker Shelli Brunswick, who delivered a keynote speech on the topic of “What’s Space Got To Do With It?” Richard accredits the partnerships he formed with American experts and organizations, such as his PDE host at NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration , as important mentors on his professional journey. Learn more about Space Forum Africa here: https://spaceforumafrica.org/. U.S. Embassy Lomé

One week left to apply for the 2026 Reciprocal Exchange. Applications are due this Friday, September 19. Learn more here:

Applications for 2026 Reciprocal Exchange Component Now Open The application for the 2026 Reciprocal Exchange component of the Mandela Washington Fellowship is open until September 19, 2025. The Reciprocal Exchange provide opportunities for U.S. professionals and Fellowship Alumni to form lasting partnerships and expand markets between the United States and A...

The application for the 2026 Reciprocal Exchange component is now open. U.S. professionals and Fellowship Alumni are eligible. Applications are due September 19. Learn more here: https://mwfellows.info/3HQPMRs

The application for the 2026 Alumni PDE is now open. Alumni from all cohort years who have not already participated in a PDE are eligible. Applications are due September 3. Learn more here:

Applications for Alumni PDEs Now Open The application for the 2026 Alumni Professional Development Experience (PDE) is now open. Alumni from all cohort years who have not already participated in a PDE are eligible. Applications are due September 3, 2025

Amadou Abdou Mahamadou Salissou, a 2024 Fellowship Alumnus from Niger and founder of Ouba Energy, is the 2025 Winner of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Catalyst Grant. Through a grant from IREX and D-Prize, Salissou will increase energy accessibility in the Sahel by distributing American-manufactured solar lamps in collaboration with d.light Design and Sun King. Salissou was inspired during the Fellowship by Sun King’s pay-as-you-go business model, which led to the three-member collaboration in the Catalyst Grant. https://mwfellows.info/4fzethM

Congratulations to the 2025 Mandela Washington Fellows for completing their Leadership Institutes! This year’s Fellows learned from and forged connections with Americans on over 25 higher education campuses and in their surrounding communities across 21 states. We look forward to supporting the continuation of these new partnerships as Fellows return home.

There's one week left to apply for the 2025 Mandela Day Service Grant! MWF Alumni implement short-term campaigns to support community service through volunteer projects. Apply here: https://buff.ly/4jf2W8L

Flashback with some of the best pictures of the year! 2024 was one to remember; here are some of the top moments you all captured.

Through the Reciprocal Exchange component, a chance meeting in Iowa City led MWF Alumna Oummu Kulthum and Meredith Rahn-Oakes to collaborate on empowering local entrepreneurs in Comoros with sustainable beekeeping practices and business strategies.

Beaches and bees: How an unlikely encounter brought a Tippie MBA to Comoros An Iowa MBA and a Mandela Washington Fellow teamed up to teach modern beekeeping and business strategies to aspiring producers in Africa.

MWF Alumni Shaibu Fuseini and Gifty Adzigbey collaborated on a life skills training workshop for students and persons with disabilities (PWDs) through the Mandela Day Service Grant. 15 PWDs were empowered with technical skills and received start-up kits to launch their own businesses!

As a business coach and mentor for the Women Creating Wealth (WCW) program, MWF Alumnus Joram Ndagga was honored to judge the Youth Jumpstarters Challenge at the WCW-GMT Summit in South Africa. "The summit reaffirmed my belief in the transformative power of collaboration, strategic mentorship, and impactful investment."