The 2016 Fellows of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders joined City Representative Sheila Hess in the Mayor’s Reception Room for a brief welcome to the City of Philadelphia. The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) that empowers young people through academic coursework, leadership training, and networking. The Fellows, who are between the ages of 25 and 35, have established records of accomplishment in promoting innovation and positive change in their organizations, institutions, communities, and countries.

Since 2014, two thousand young African leaders from every country in Sub Saharan Africa have participated as Fellows in the Mandela Washington Fellowship Selected from 120,000 applications over the course of three years, the Mandela Washington Fellows represent the extraordinary promise of an emerging generation of entrepreneurs, activists, and public officials. Mandela Washington Fellows have proven track records of leadership and demonstrate a strong commitment to contributing their skills and talents to strengthening and serving their communities. Each year’s cohorts represented all 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and included equal numbers of men and women.

The 2016 Mandela Washington Fellows represent a diverse group of young leaders from across the continent. Sixty six of the Fellows identified as having a disability. Almost 30% of the Fellows are from rural areas or towns of fewer than 100,000 people. Non-profit organizations headed by Fellows reached over 10 million beneficiaries last year alone. Over 85% of Fellows conducted community service in the 12 months prior to the fellowship. Almost half of Fellows had never participated in a leadership program prior to the Fellowship.