The United States’ premiere African youth leadership program, the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), launched in 2010 with what is now called the Mandela Washington Fellows (MWF) program. It invests in generations of young leaders to enhance leadership skills; bolster entrepreneurship; and connect young African leaders with one another, the United States, and peers in the global private, civic, and public sectors– resulting in a more secure and prosperous continent. With a population of 1.3 billion people whose median age is 19 years old, one of Africa's most important resources is its youth. YALI intends to work with public, private sector, and civil society partners across the continent to develop initiatives and economic opportunities to harness the innovation and energy of Africa’s youth.
YALI is a catalytic movement of capable young leaders who are uniquely positioned to address the crises of today while promoting resilience, innovation, competitiveness, and truly shared prosperity for the future. YALI takes advantage of the full diversity of talents required to address today’s complex challenges, such as unemployment, corruption, and lack of basic services.
The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to conduct market research to inform the range of options for an expanded Pan-African youth leadership development model that will harmonize training curriculum, serve underrepresented/underserved youth populations, build alumni network capacity and professional development opportunities, and develop new programrelated partnerships with the private sector and other stakeholders and donors. The request also seeks input on organizational designs and platforms that contribute to building long-term institutional sustainability for high quality youth leadership development programs. USAID envisions a future youth leadership model built around three long-term outcomes:
- Scale and Sustain Leadership: Strengthen leadership skills among young African leaders to meet the needs of their communities, countries, and the continent.
- Foster Alumni Impact: Empower leaders and create youth networks to shape the development of their communities to promote good governance, expand economic prosperity, peace and security, and inclusive and equitable health, education, and livelihoods.
- Amplify Partner Engagement: Harness and leverage the contributions of diverse partners to harmonize development efforts, increase the impact and reach of Pan-African youth leaders, and catalyze sustainable economic growth and opportunities between the U.S. and Africa.
Response Date: June 23, 2022