By Anthony Howard
Jackson State University’s College of Business celebrated the completion of its third Mandela Washington Fellowship Young African Leadership Institute (YALI). On Friday, July 26, the college held a closing ceremony to culminate the six-week-long program and congratulate the 24-member cohort on their achievement.
“When all of you return to your homes and start applying for grants and expanding your businesses, we hope you remember Jackson State as a second home,” said Dr. Fidelis Ikem, dean of the College of Business. “We hope to continue working with all of you.”
During the institute, the fellows received various leadership training sessions and gained exposure to some of the state’s best offerings. The fellows visited several local museums, including the Two Mississippi Museums and the B.B. King Museum in Indianola, Mississippi.
The young foreign business leaders also took advantage of community service opportunities and networking events with local and state politicians and business owners. While giving final reflections, the fellows shared key takeaways from their experiences.
“I thought I was running a successful business already, but coming here has shown me how to take my business to the next level,” said Mazvita Marowa from Zimbabwe.
Marowa is the founder and managing director of Rukanda Pride, a real leather product manufacturer. Gomezgani Kakhuta is an agribusiness sector manager for NBS Bank in Malawi. He is working to improve agriculture financing access by utilizing technology and financing models and strengthening the agricultural ecosystem.
“Before coming to this fellowship, I used to look at numbers and only see people as numbers. Being here has helped me open my eyes to see people as people,” Kakhuta shared. “When I get back home, I’m going to always think about that when I conduct business.”
Nuttah Mumbi, a civil engineer from Zambia, explained how she gained inspiration and motivation from all the professional women she encountered during the fellowship. She shared how she is often the only woman in professional spaces in her career.
“When I came to this fellowship, I felt unmotivated by the challenges I face in a male-dominated career,” Mumbi said. Seeing so many women here who are doctors and hold high positions in the large companies we visited gave me the confidence to know I’m equally or sometimes more capable than some of my male counterparts.”
After the Leadership Institute, Fellows will attend the Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit, where they will network and participate in panel discussions with each other and U.S. leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
Following the Summit, up to 100 competitively selected Fellows will participate in four weeks of professional development with U.S. non-governmental organizations, private companies, and government agencies.
It is Jackson State University’s 3rd summer hosting the fellowship. The cohort of fellows hosted by the university will be part of a group of 700 Mandela Washington Fellows hosted at 28 educational institutions across the United States. Established in 2014, the Mandela Washington Fellowship is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2024.
YALI, created in 2010, supports young Africans as they spur economic growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa. Since its inception, nearly 6,500 young leaders from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa have participated in the Mandela Washington Fellowship.