By Thomas Friestad

Though they’ve got only a few weeks left in Iowa, about two dozen business leaders and entrepreneurs from sub-Saharan Africa are making the most of it. Hailing from 19 countries, the 25 visitors were chosen through the six-week Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative, funded with a $150,000 U.S. State Department grant.

By David Dahmer

“I didn’t realize that being among these African leaders how I would feel so empowered. For me, they represent world history but also the future. We felt connected even though we hadn’t met before,” says Dr. Rev. Alex Gee. “There was something extremely powerful about people across the African diaspora [coming together]. We need to have more gatherings like this. It really moved me.”

On July 9, Dr. Gee and his team at Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development hosted the Mandela Washington Fellows of the African Studies Program at UW-Madison.