Mandela Washington Fellowship 2026 Reciprocal Exchange Component  – Opportunities For Africans

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Application Deadline: September 19, 2025,

Applications are actually open for the Mandela Washington Fellowship 2026 Reciprocal Exchange Component. The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders—the flagship alternate program of the U.S. Government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI)—was created to put money into the subsequent technology of African leaders.  Established in 2014, the Fellowship has supported Alumni from throughout Sub-Saharan Africa to develop their management abilities and foster connections and collaboration with U.S. professionals.  The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding offered by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX.  The Fellowship’s Reciprocal Exchange part offers U.S. professionals with the chance to construct upon strategic partnerships {and professional} connections developed through the Mandela Washington Fellowship.  

U.S. professionals are offered funds to implement in-person or hybrid initiatives in Sub-Saharan African international locations to proceed collaborative work with Fellowship Alumni on the continent.  U.S. professionals could embody Americans engaged with the Fellowship via networking, the Summit, Professional Development Experiences, or different actions.     

The Reciprocal Exchange part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship goals to offer Opportunities for U.S. professionals and Fellowship Alumni to kind lasting partnerships and broaden markets and networks between the United States and international locations in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Award Objectives

• The Mandela Washington Fellowship will present grants of as much as $3,000 per chosen challenge to help hybrid Reciprocal Exchange packages or grants of as much as $5,000 per chosen Participant (as much as 4 Participants) to help journey to Sub-Saharan Africa and different program-related prices through the grant interval. 
• Participants and Fellowship Alumni will implement a short-term challenge that straight advantages people within the challenge nation throughout implementation.  Projects needs to be now not than 4 weeks. 
• Participants and Fellowship Alumni will broaden their skilled networks, achieve new enterprise Opportunities, and construct new data or abilities throughout their Reciprocal Exchange challenge planning and implementation durations. 
• Participants will actively share abilities and data gained throughout their Reciprocal Exchange with different U.S. residents of their home communities after implementing their Reciprocal Exchange to learn American organizations and companies.   

Eligibility Requirements

U.S. professionals collaborating within the Reciprocal Exchange have to be U.S. residents presently residing within the United States.  U.S. professionals might not be staff or instant relations of staff of the U.S. Government (together with a U.S. Embassy or different U.S. Government entity).  Any one particular person can full not more than two in-person Reciprocal Exchange initiatives. 

Fellowship Alumni have to be thought-about Alumni of the Fellowship in good standing by the U.S. Department of State.  They might not be staff or instant relations of staff of the U.S. Government.  Fellowship Alumni should reside within the proposed challenge nation and be current for the complete length of the challenge’s implementation.

Selection Criteria 

Eligible purposes shall be reviewed utilizing the next choice standards: 

• Demonstrates affect on the Fellowship Alumni Collaborator’s home group, neighborhood, and/or nation; 
• Demonstrates affect and concrete profit to U.S. firms, communities, or organizations; 
• Demonstrates joint engagement between the Fellowship Alumni Collaborator and U.S. skilled in challenge design and implementation (i.e., it needs to be clear to application reviewers that every applicant contributed equally to the general application); 
• Proposes a transparent and lifelike challenge implementation plan; 
• Provides measurable targets and particular challenge actions throughout implementation; and 
• Demonstrates continued affect of the challenge after implementation. 

Financial Provision

• Maximum Hybrid Grant Award: $3,000 per challenge
• Maximum In-Person Grant Award: $5,000 per chosen Participant (as much as 4 U.S. Participants)

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Mandela Washington Fellowship 2026 Reciprocal Exchange Component