The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) is an initiative of Barack Obama, former President of the United States, which dates back to 2010. The objective is to support young African leaders in their efforts to stimulate growth and prosperity, strengthen the democratic governance and improving peace and security in the African continent. Initially, it consisted of a series of high-level forums, including the Obama Forum with Young African Leaders in August 2010, the Pioneering Young African Women Forum in June 2011, and the Innovation and Partnership for Mentoring Young African Leaders of June 2012, in addition to the approximately two thousand (2000) youth activities that took place at US Embassies across the African continent. Building on the success of these events, YALI has expanded into three main programs: the Mandela Washington Fellowship, YALI Network, and the YALI Regional Leadership Centers.
The Regional Leadership Centers were created in Africa, to have more impact by training more leaders. Centers are based in Nairobi (Kenya), Pretoria (South Africa), Accra (Ghana) and Dakar (Senegal).
Looking for fully-funded opportunities, install the Youth Opportunities Android or iOS App here.
There are four Regional Leadership Centers (Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and South Africa). These centers serve as regional hubs across the continent to encourage transformational learning and improved leadership skills. The YALI Regional Leadership Centers are a project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in close partnership with The MasterCard Foundation. Each Regional Leadership Center is run through a public/private partnership.
Location:
OnlineBenefits
If you are selected to participate in the YALI- West Africa Regional Leadership Center Program, Dakar, all of the following expenses will be covered by the Program:
- Visa fees for Senegal (if necessary);
- Return tickets from your country to Dakar;
- For Senegalese, return transportation costs from your place of residence to the YALI Regional Leadership Center – West Africa – Dakar;
- Training costs;
- Insurance during your stay in Dakar;
- Accommodation costs and meals.
* The program only covers your transportation costs to and from Senegal within the 25 countries covered by the YALI West Africa-Dakar Regional Leadership Center.
- With support from USAID and The MasterCard Foundation, the Center Africain d’Etudes Supérieures en Gestion (CESAG) and its main partners (the Synapse Center and the West African Research Center) have set up the Regional Center for Leadership ( CRL) which offers future leaders from 25 African countries skills, tools and opportunities to help them realize their dreams, and thus shape the future of the continent. The CRL YALI DAKAR covers from October 2020 the following 25 Africans countries.
- The YALI DAKAR Regional Leadership Center (CRL) housed within the African Center for Higher Studies in Management (CESAG) offers two types of training in the following 3 areas: Business and Entrepreneurship, Civic Leadership and Public Management.
It is :
- the hybrid training which takes place over 5 weeks with 2 weeks of online training followed by 3 weeks of face-to-face training in Dakar.
- distance training which takes place over 8 weeks entirely online and asynchronously.
Eligibilities
The project targets young people between the ages of 18 and 35 who meet the following criteria:
- Be able to read, write and take training in French;
- Have leadership potential;
- Have one of the following profiles:
- Agent of a public administration (at central or local level) or employed in the private sector;
- Entrepreneur or business promoter;
- Leader of an association, NGO or civil society organization;
- Be a project leader relating to social entrepreneurship, civic engagement or the improvement of functioning of the public/private sector;
- Have a valid passport or identity document;
- Have access to the internet and a computer tool to follow the online training phases;
- Be available and committed to complete the entire training program.
Application Process
To apply for the YALI DAKAR program, you simply have to follow the steps that correspond to your case:
This is the first time you apply-
- Create your account on the website
- Follow the instructions to validate your account
- Log in with your new account
- Complete the application form
- Submit the form on time
- Check if you received the email confirming the submission of your application
- Click on the following button to access the detailed and illustrated guide
If you already have an account, this is not the first time you apply-
- Log in with your old account
- Click on “I want to request a new cohort…”
- Have access to the new form with the old information
- Complete the application form
- Submit the form on time
- Check if you received the email confirming of the submission of your application
Looking for fully-funded opportunities, install the Youth Opportunities Android or iOS App here.
Application Deadline: April 8, 2022
Application ClosedOfficial link
