Later this month, Dartmouth will welcome 25 of Africa’s brightest emerging business leaders and entrepreneurs for a six-week academic and leadership institute. This is the second year Dartmouth will host a cohort of “Mandela Washington Fellows.”

The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). The Fellowship empowers young African leaders through academic coursework, leadership training, mentoring, networking, professional opportunities, and support for activities in their communities. Fellows are young leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa who have a proven record of accomplishment in promoting innovation and positive change in their organizations, institutions, or communities. The cohort of Fellows hosted by Dartmouth is part of a larger group of 500 Mandela Washington Fellows being hosted across the United States this summer. These exceptional young leaders will meet with President Obama during a Summit in Washington, DC. Select Fellows also will receive hands-on experience through six-week placements with US companies, organizations, and government agencies following the institutes.

Working closely with the Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs and its implementing partner, IREX, Dartmouth has designed academic programs that will challenge, inspire, and empower these young leaders from Africa...

...The Mandela Washington Fellowship at Dartmouth focuses on business and entrepreneurship ⎯ specifically, design-driven and entrepreneurship, which combines social impact and ethical practices into a cohesive, innovative business plan and execution. Academic sessions led by Thayer School of Engineering Professor, Peter Robbie and Dartmouth alumni entrepreneur, Richard Nadworny, the Institute employs a creative and comprehensive combination of traditional lectures, workshops, group-based project assignments, and community engagement.