Dartmouth Hosts Young African Leaders

For the fourth summer in a row, Dartmouth is host to 25 emerging business leaders and entrepreneurs from Sub-Saharan Africa through the Mandela Washington Fellowship as part of the United States Government’s Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI). The Fellows participated in an academic and leadership institute in business and entrepreneurship for six-weeks during the summer term of 2017.

YALI is a program led by the Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs overseen by the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX).

The Fellowship aims to enhance leadership, strengthen communication skills, and foster personal connections. The Rockefeller Center leads sessions on mentoring, networking, leadership, and professional opportunities.

At Dartmouth, the programming for YALI is a collaboration of the following departments: The Dickey Center for International Understanding, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences, the Dartmouth Center for Service, the Thayer School of Engineering, the Outdoor Programs Office, and the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network (DEN).

The 2017 Fellows at Dartmouth represent 19 countries including Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Dartmouth’s cohort is part of a larger group of 1,000 Fellows in the United States. The Fellows are hosted by 37 universities throughout the United States. Each institution focuses on either business and entrepreneurship, civil leadership, or public management. At the end of the six-week program, all of the Fellows participate in a summit in Washington, D.C.

Read the profiles of the 2017 Mandela Washington Fellows.