The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) was launched in 2015 as a signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders. To date, the four RLCs have empowered over 20,000 alumni across 49 countries.
1 in 3 Africans are between the ages of 10 and 24
Approximately 60% of Africa’s total population is below the age of 35
Who will shape the future of the African continent?
The Regional Leadership Center serves as a regional hub to encourage transformational learning and enhancing leadership skills in the following areas:
The various stories of YALI alumni spread across Africa demonstrate that alumni have started to make an impact in their communities and society at large.
YALI Graduates Help Ensure Water Stay Abundant in East Africa
Two East African graduates of USAID’s Young African Leaders Initiative are doing their part to protect a vital and delicate environmental area of Southeastern Kenya from deforestation.
YALI Alum Uses 3-D Animation to Inspire Positive Behavior Change Among Youth in Tanzania
Ian Tarimo, Co-Founder of Tai Tanzania Tai Tanzania is dedicated to creating spaces where every person, especially those coming from marginalized communities, have access to education.When Ian Tarimo, 33, graduated from university, he knew ...Read More
She Motivates Young People to Never Give Up on their Dreams
This blog was originally shared by YALI NETWORK Youth coach and mentor Salimi Gerhard didn’t always know that she wanted to be a motivator of young people. In fact, Salimi struggled as a child in ...Read More
YALI Voices: The Healing, Heroic, Journey of One GBV Survivor in Sierra Leone
This blog was originally shared by YALI NETWORK Contributed by Agatha Levi, a 2017 Mandela Washington Fellow and Sierra Leone RLC Alumni “Education is the reason I can stand to fight all the challenges I ...Read More
Sustainable Farming Practices and Efficient Resource Management
This blog was originally shared by YALI NETWORK For decades, we have produced food through a system dominated by growing the same crops year after year, using enormous amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers that ...Read More
YALI Voices: Sierra Leone Beach Cleanup Boosts Awareness of Community Environmental, Economic Issues
This blog was originally shared by YALI NETWORK On July 18, 2017, I organized the Aberdeen beach cleaning exercise in Freetown for YALIServes. The Aberdeen beach is the most visited beach in Sierra Leone; it ...Read More
YALI Voices: Our Bodies, Our Rights, Our Future
This blog was originally shared by YALI NETWORK In Africa, and Cameroon in particular, parents and young girls shy away from sex education because it is still regarded as a taboo in most communities. In ...Read More
Jotham Johnson
Jotham Johnson has dedicated his whole life to defending human rights and empowering young Sierra Leaneans to reach their full potential. Jotham, a YALI RLC West Africa alum, is a Human Rights Officer and Manager ...Read More
Eric Muthomi
A story about our alumnus Eric Muthomi, Kenya, Cohort 1, Business & Entrepreneurship With the desire to use smart business decisions to break the cycle of poverty among smallholder farmers and to feed Kenyan families ...Read More
Oluwafunmilayo Oni
Oluwafunmilayo Oni is an Alumni from Nigeria who is raising funds during the COVID-19 pandemic to support over 140 households in slum areas and underserved communities in Makoko, Mushin and Oke-ira in Nigeria. Through her ...Read More