Mandela fellows launched with $400,000

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US African Development Foundation (USADF) are pleased to announce plans to award a total of $400,000 in grant funding with support from Citi Foundation to 42 young African social entrepreneurs who are developing businesses to drive social and community change in 22 sub-Saharan African countries.

All of the awardees are 2019 Mandela Washington Fellows under the US Government's Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI).

By pairing seed capital with technical assistance, USAID, USADF and Citi Foundation provide young entrepreneurs with the tools needed to invest in their own communities. 

Each winner of the competition will receive at least $10,000 in seed capital to support the growth of his or her company - in sectors that range from agribusiness and health care to renewable energy and education.

The goal of the public-private partnership is to increase the commercial know-how and access to seed capital of Africa's next generation of business leaders and social entrepreneurs and the investments will allow them to create jobs, train other youth, improve their communities and create or expand markets by providing goods and services.

USADF is proud to work with Citi Foundation for the fourth year, and gains a new partner in USAID.  USADF's goal is to catalyze young African ingenuity through entrepreneurship and support entrepreneurs to expand their social enterprises. 

Since 2014, it has awarded over $5m to more than 250 young leaders in over 30 countries.