The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders — the flagship program of the U.S. Government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) — was created in 2014 to invest in the next generation of African leaders. The Fellowship’s Reciprocal Exchange component provides U.S. professionals with the opportunity to build upon strategic partnerships and professional connections developed during the Mandela Washington Fellowship. The Reciprocal Exchange component provides funds for U.S. professionals to implement in-person or hybrid projects in sub-Saharan African countries to continue collaborative work with Fellowship Alumni on the continent. U.S. professionals may include those met during the Fellowship through networking, the Summit, Professional Development Experiences, Givitas, or other activities.
Eligibility Criteria
U.S. professionals participating in the Reciprocal Exchange must be U.S. citizens currently living in the United States. U.S. professionals may not be employees or immediate family members of employees of the U.S. Government (including a U.S. Embassy, USAID, or other U.S. Government entity).
Fellowship Alumni must be considered Alumni of the Fellowship by the U.S. Department of State. They may not be employees or immediate family members of employees of the U.S. Government. Fellowship Alumni must reside in the proposed project country and be present for the full duration of the project’s implementation. Fellowship Alumni must also fill out the Fellowship Alumni Outreach Campaign if they have not done so in the last year.
Offered Benefits
Award Goal
The Reciprocal Exchange component of the Mandela Washington Fellowship aims to provide opportunities for U.S. professionals and Fellowship Alumni to form lasting partnerships, expand markets and networks, and increase mutual understanding between the United States and countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Award objective
- The Mandela Washington Fellowship will provide grants of up to $3,000 per selected project to support hybrid Reciprocal Exchange programs or grants of up to $5,000 per selected U.S. Participant to support travel to Sub-Saharan Africa and other program-related costs during the grant period.
- U.S. Participants and Fellowship Alumni will implement a short-term project that directly benefits individuals in the project country during implementation. Projects should be no longer than four weeks.
- U.S. Participants and Fellowship Alumni will expand their professional networks, gain new business opportunities, build new knowledge or skills, and expand mutual understanding during their Reciprocal Exchange project planning and implementation periods.
- U.S. Participants will actively share skills and knowledge gained during their Reciprocal Exchange with other U.S. citizens in their home communities after implementing their Reciprocal Exchange.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship will provide grants of up to $3,000 per selected project to support hybrid Reciprocal Exchange programs or grants of up to $5,000 per selected U.S. Participant to support travel to Sub-Saharan Africa and other program-related costs during the grant period.
- Maximum Hybrid Grant Award: $3,000 per project
- Maximum In-Person Grant Award: $5,000 per selected Participant
Disbursement of Funds
Up to $3,000 per project will be provided to implement the Reciprocal Exchange and support approved program-related costs for hybrid projects. Funds may be disbursed to Fellowship Alumni Collaborators for hybrid projects only. For in-person projects with multiple U.S. Participants, the project team must select one Participant to receive the project funds. Award funds are disbursed in two installments, contingent upon receipt of required deliverables. Participants or Fellowship Alumni Collaborators will receive funds as a wire transfer to their personal bank accounts; as such, Participants and Fellowship Alumni Collaborators will be asked to provide IREX with their bank information as well as a signed Terms and Conditions document, which will outline the terms for the award.
Procurement of Visa
U.S. Participants will be required to procure their visas through an IREX-preferred vendor prior to travel, unless it is impossible to do so. IREX will cover the cost of the visa service as well as the visa fee itself. Please note that travelers to Nigeria are not able to use IREX’s preferred vendor for their visa procurement. Please see the budget template and the Nigerian Embassy’s website for more information.
Application Process
Go to Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) on www.surveygizmo.com to apply
Reciprocal Exchange applications must include the following attachments. Applications missing any attachment will be considered incomplete and therefore ineligible.
- Completed Application Form(click “Apply Now” to begin)
- Both the U.S. professional and the Fellowship Alumni must work together to complete an application form. The application is available at the link below.
- All responses must be in English.
- Include your full legal name as it is spelled in your international passport.
- Provide complete contact information, including postal index codes for all addresses and country and area codes for telephone numbers.
- Answers to essay questions should not exceed 300 words (approximately 2,000 characters) per question.
- Completed Work Plan ( download)
- Eligible work plans must use the template provided and comply with the requirements outlined in the template’s Guidelines tab.
- Completed Budget Form ( download)
- All costs should be in U.S. dollars.
- Eligible budgets must use the provided template and comply with the requirements outlined in the template’s Guidelines tab.
- Budgets should reflect total estimated costs of project implementation, inclusive of expenses that will be provided in-kind and/or through cost-share.
- Professional Resumes: Resumes for all candidates should demonstrate that the applicants are well-qualified to implement the proposed project. They must be submitted in English and may be no longer than two pages.
Please note the following:
- Applications must be received on or before the due date. Applications received after the deadline may not be considered.
- Fellowship Alumni and U.S. professionals must collaborate on all application materials, including the work plan and budget. Questions in each portion of the applications are similar but require individual answers from the Fellowship Alumni and U.S. professional(s).
- For projects with multiple U.S. professionals or Fellowship Alumni, the primary U.S. professional and primary Fellowship Alumni should complete the application together.
- Please do not leave any space blank. If a question does not apply to you, write N/A (not applicable).
