Fellowship Alumni

Across Sub-Saharan Africa

Fellowship Alumni Drive Change for Young Women

Through innovative projects, advocacy, and leadership, Fellowship Alumni are addressing critical challenges, including education, economic opportunity, and gender equality. Their efforts are equipping young women with the tools and knowledge they need to thrive and become leaders in their communities.

Equipping Young Women with Financial Literacy

2018 Fellowship Alumna Juliet Odhiambo and Reciprocal Exchange Participant Shinobu Hindert.

2018 Fellowship Alumna Juliet Odhiambo partnered with financial educator Shinobu Hindert on a Reciprocal Exchange project to empower young women in Nairobi to manage their finances effectively.

The three-day workshop “Making Girls Money Savvy,” featured interactive sessions on budgeting, saving, and investing, building both confidence and financial literacy among participants. Their goal was to demystify complex financial concepts, ensuring each young woman felt equipped to make informed decisions.

To provide ongoing support, Juliet and Shinobu created an online video training program that captures all the key lessons from the three-day workshop.

Participants during a session of the Making Girls Money Savvy training workshop.

Increasing Access to Education

2021 Fellowship Alumna Abigail Aruna during the mentorship event.

Through a Mandela Day Service Grant, 2021 Fellowship Alumni Abigail Aruna and Benjamin Akinkang held a youth mentorship event to provide reusable sanitary pads, menstrual hygiene education on effective use of reusable pads and other products, and career mentorship to girls at the Bole Girls Model School in Ghana.

The project distributed reusable sanitary pads to 1,315 girls and teachers within the Bole district. The sanitary pads can be reused for up to three years. Abigail says, “These girls do not have to worry about buying sanitary pads for the next 3 years and so can be comfortable enough to go to school during their period.”

Igniting Change Through Women Entrepreneurs

Neema Kihwelo, a 2019 Alumna from Tanzania, and Katlego Mokgethi, a 2022 Alumna from Botswana, spearheaded a LINC project to enable young women to start and grow their social enterprises. This project, deeply rooted in ecosystem development, involved hands-on training, coaching, and mentorship for aspiring female entrepreneurs.

Participants in the entrepreneurship training.

The project’s centerpiece was a series of training, coaching, and mentorship sessions on entrepreneurship. Notably, the project collaborated with the Zanzibar Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Zanzibar Startup Association, empowering about 20 women entrepreneurs with essential information and resources.

The best part for me was seeing this unfold and young women entrepreneurs getting new opportunities to build and grow their businesses.

2019 Fellowship Alumna Neema Kihwelo, Tanzania

Public Policy and Accountability to Protect Girls’ Rights

Reciprocal Exchange Participant Johanna Leblanc during a women’s empowerment training.

2016 Fellowship Alumna Colisile Tfwala collaborated with foreign policy and national security professional Johanna Leblanc on a Reciprocal Exchange project to enhance personal development among women and children in Eswatini.

Colisile and Johanna worked with orphanages and other organizations in Eswatini to host workshops on increasing motivation, self-confidence, girls’ empowerment, and knowledge of the law. Meetings with leaders – including Eswatini’s Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Director of Social Welfare, and Chairperson of the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus – informed their workshops and opened doors for future collaboration.

The project was a resounding success as it made more impact than we envisaged…They emphasized how the workshops helped to change their world view and gave them the skills they desperately needed.”

2016 Fellowship Alumna Colisile Tfwala, Eswatini

Written by Abbie Wade.