In 1999, the Princeton in Asia fellowship program was celebrating its 100th anniversary, and a Princeton University alumnus wondered aloud: Why is there no Princeton in Africa? And just like that a new entity was born. On April 23 in New York, Princeton in Africa will celebrate 25 years of connecting skilled and experienced individuals around the world with mission-driven organizations in Africa.
Program Director Stephanie Leroy says, "We want to highlight and celebrate all the individuals and organizations that have walked this path with us. And we also want to invite new people to come with us as we embark on the next 25 years." The event will honor two outstanding individuals, Meg Whitman (former U.S. Ambassador to Kenya) and Gbenga Oyebode (Co-Founder & Chairman, Aluko & Oyebode). The occasion will be held by Mary Maker, a South Sudanese refugee education activist and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. Details on the gala here.
Since 1999, Princeton in Africa has been placing young professionals who are graduates of U.S.-accredited colleges and universities into specific roles with impactful organizations around the African continent. In 2023, Princeton in Africa introduced the Nexus Program, which has a unique modus operandi. Leroy explains, "The idea is to pair an individual who has graduated from a U.S. institution with someone from an African institution in a year-long fellowship exchange. Fellows might come from anywhere, but their post is always in a country not their own. The mission of our program is about the mutually beneficial exchange between our fellows and host organizations."
Both fellows and host organizations are carefully vetted to ensure a good fit, and PiAf's record of success will be on full display at the New York gala. But Leroy adds that there is always an element of chance in these pairings, an opportunity for fellows to discover new passions and talents. "After all," says Leroy, "that's what you're supposed to be doing at this stage in your career. It's a leadership program, focused both on personal and professional development. We don't put people in boxes. We don't label them. Someone is coming in with skills and those skills may translate to a lot of different areas. The fellow may go on to any number of career paths."
Leroy says that when students leave an institution of higher learning, they still have a lot to learn. "Often, they don't understand the realities of the working world, no matter if it's on the African continent or anywhere else in the world. I think this is a universal challenge."
Sheila Agiti, a Princeton graduate and PiAf fellow from 2011-2012, reflects on how PiAf brings to life her alma mater's unofficial motto: "In the nation's service and the service of humanity." For Agiti, PiAf is at its core about service--an opportunity for any young person committed to making a meaningful impact on the African continent. The fellowship creates a powerful platform for personal and professional growth, while host organizations benefit from the expertise, passion and fresh perspectives fellows contribute.
"Host organizations get really excited about having someone come in that has a unique perspective, background and experience," says Leroy. "The fellows learn from professionals with years of experience in their fields. Often fellows are earlier on in their careers, but they come with a fresh perspective, a lot of energy, passion and interest in working hard and making an impact."
PiAf has worked in 37 African countries and currently has posts in 12 countries, mostly in East and southern Africa. PiAf has policies about where fellows can be placed but strive to work with host organizations and their unique circumstances. "For example," says Leroy, "we have a post with the International Rescue Committee's Somalia Office. The fellow is based in Nairobi, Kenya, but works closely with the IRC's office in Somalia.
We note with some pride that Afropop's Director of Operations and New Media from 2017-19, Akornefa Akyea, was a PiAf fellow in Gabon working in the agricultural sector. Akyea's subsequent career gravitated towards the arts, but her PiAf experience was clearly formative.
Another PiAf alumnus, Veda Sunassee, served as a fellow at African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa, and the experience literally changed his life. Like many fellows, Sunassee faced initial challenges figuring out how to be a professional in a new environment. His focus was on student recruitment, reaching out to potential students across the African continent. He also mentored students, taught French and coached soccer, and by the end of the year, recalls Leroy, "things were really clicking." So much so that 15 years later, Sunassee is still a big part of the African educational ecosystem and currently serves as the CEO of the African Leadership University. PiAf had its 2024 mid-year fellow retreat at ALU's campus in Kigali, Rwanda.
Sheila Agiti was also a fellow at African Leadership Academy, and has gone on to work with ALA in multiple roles over the past decade since her fellowship placement. "I was very passionate about what careers looked like for young Africans," she says. "I came through Princeton in Africa to try to get back to the African continent, because that wasn't always an easy navigation, especially when you're outside the continent. I wanted to use my experience and skills to build a pilot for ALA. I can proudly say that pilot was a resounding success and has now become Africa Careers Networks which supports thousands of young Africans to access fulfilling career opportunities."
PiAf fellows work in many sectors: education, public health, agricultural development, humanitarian assistance, business development... But what about the creative industries: music, film, fashion and live entertainment? Agiti says, "I would love to see a lot more work with the creative arts and making them more mainstream, especially on the African continent. We've talked about this a lot. How do we monetize or mainstream the creative industry? But for the most part, we're talking with individuals. I don't think we've done a good enough job of thinking about the organizations that are doing an incredible job in the arts sectors. How do we get more young people into those spaces to learn and grow and to develop different talents as we've done with education or public health, or conservation?"
Leroy adds, "We would love to partner with organizations in the creative sphere. We haven't had many of those, but if you know any who would be interested in hosting a fellow, let us know." Notice served! Of course, host organizations do need to have a viable funding base, but PiAf works with both large and small institutions, so size is no barrier to partnership.
Recent cuts to USAID and other entities in global development have created stress for many of the organizations PiAf works with. "It has deeply impacted many of our organizations," says Leroy. "Even if an organization has not been affected in terms of direct funding, the community that they're working in has been affected and other programs have closed down, and this gives them more of a burden to provide services. I think the way that it was done was not the best. There was no time to plan. There was a lot of confusion around whether funding was cut or not. So there has been a lot of anger and frustration. But it's interesting. In talking with many of our organizations, what I have heard is not so much them being demoralized by what's happened. There's been a lot of talk about opportunity. While so many working in international development have done impactful work in their careers, I'm hearing, 'Maybe there's a new way to do things, a different way that's better than the old way. Maybe we don't need this big, powerful country coming in and giving funding and saying, this is the way you need to do things. Maybe there's a way that our governments, our countries, can do this ourselves."'
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Agiti concurs. "I'm hearing a lot of resilience from organizations on the ground. This is not the time to cower. This is the time to be innovative, to think outside the box. They are not questioning their mission. They know they are doing the right things. So it's a question of what they need to ensure that they continue to do this impactful work."
However events unfold, one thing is sure. Princeton in Africa fellows and alumni will be in the game, making a difference in every way they can.
