The University of Iowa again will host 25 young business and government leaders from several African countries this summer as part of the U.S. State Department Mandela Washington Fellowship for African Leaders.

The fellows will spend six weeks in Iowa participating in entrepreneurial education programs on the UI campus in Iowa City and also touring the state, visiting businesses in Des Moines, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and other cities around eastern Iowa. Dimy Doresca, director of the UI Institute for International Business, says the fellows will learn more about the American economy and how American businesses are managed, information they can take home and use to help build and strengthen businesses in their countries.

“They will be Iowa’s ambassadors to Africa, learning our way of doing things and bringing the Iowa values that they learn here back to their homes,” says Doresca. “The visits will also have an economic development impact as the fellows will build good connections to Iowans who want to do business in Africa.”

In 2016, the UI hosted 25 fellows, who learned about entrepreneurialism and life in Iowa during their six-week stay.

This year’s 25 fellows will be among the 1,000 selected from Sub-Saharan countries to participate with numerous colleges and universities across the United States. Those selected are chosen from more than 40,000 who apply each year. They will be in Iowa in June and July.

“They are the cream of the cream of their countries’ young business and government leaders,” says Doresca. “The top of the top.”

Doresca says the fellows also will visit Iowa farms and cultural institutions to learn more about how Iowans live.

The university will receive a $150,000 grant from the State Department to offset the costs of the program.

Drake University in Des Moines is also participating, and Doresca says the two schools will host a networking event to bring the fellows together.

Sarah Gardial, dean of the Tippie College of Business, says the program supports the college’s vision of developing a global mindset for the future successes of UI faculty, staff, and students.

“We look forward to providing the best in entrepreneurship training to these young leaders as we also anticipate learning from them about the important role of Africa in a global economy,” she says.

David Hensley, executive director of UI JPEC, says JPEC will offer UI entrepreneurship students and faculty the opportunity to work closely with African leaders to pursue new ideas.

“This is an example of how the Institute for International Business and JPEC have expanded global educational opportunities for entrepreneurship students and support for Iowa’s small to medium-size businesses,” says Hensley. “We are now able to make better use of faculty, programs, and resources to pursue these types of global initiatives.”

The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) created by former President Barack Obama to empower young African leaders through academic coursework, leadership training, mentoring, networking, professional opportunities, and support for activities in their communities. Fellows are young leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa who have established records of accomplishment in promoting innovation and positive change in their organizations, institutions, communities, and countries.