• MILEAD launches 2026 fellows program for young African women

• Twenty-five candidates aged 19-25 to be selected

• Selected fellows attend Ghana institute, yearlong mentoring program

The MILEAD (Moremi Initiative Leadership Empowerment and Development) Fellows Program, dedicated to advancing women’s leadership in Africa, has launched its 2026 edition. Supported by the Moremi Initiative for Women’s Leadership in Africa, the program has for more than a decade helped committed young women consolidate their skills, expand their networks, and strengthen their local impact.

For this new cohort, 25 candidates aged 19 to 25 will be selected. Applicants must have demonstrated leadership in their academic, professional, or community involvement. The deadline to submit a complete application, including a CV and two letters of recommendation, is March 20, 2026.

Selected participants will attend an intensive three-week residential institute in Ghana, followed by a one-year program combining дистан learning, personalized mentoring, and the implementation of a community project called MiCHANGE. The initiative aims to develop high-level skills while integrating participants into a pan-African support network.

The program comes at a time of persistent disparities. Despite gains in education and representation, women’s economic integration remains uneven across countries, the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025 notes.

Limited access to formal employment, concentration in precarious work, and the burden of unpaid care responsibilities continue to hinder young women’s full participation in the workforce, according to Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator in a November 2025 analysis. As early as 2022, the Global Partnership for Education warned that millions of African girls and women risk exclusion without training aligned with future labor market needs.

Félicien Houindo Lokossou