President Barack Obama, on Monday, welcomed 500 young African leaders who are participants in the inaugural Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders.

“We’re thrilled to welcome you, our Washington Fellows, to an exchange programs unlike any that America has ever had with Africa,” said Obama at the town‐hall meeting with the young leaders.

The fellowship is part of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) and aims to connect young African leaders with top American universities in order to facilitate leadership training and knowledge acquisition.

During his remarks, President Obama announced the renaming of the Washington Fellowship in honor of late President Nelson Mandela. He also announced new partnerships designed to create a spectrum of programs, platforms and support for young African leaders.

As a result of this, four regional Leadership Centers will be created in Africa. This will be in addition to multiple online classes and resources. There will also be opportunities for seed funding, mentoring and networking.

The YALI summit also serves as a precursor to the inaugural US‐Africa Leaders Summit which comes up next week. The event will be the largest gathering any President of the United States has hosted for African heads of state. The objective of the summit is to consolidate ties between the United States and the fast growing African region.

By Emmanuel Iruobe