United States Department of State Professional Fellows Program-Advancing Young Women Agribusiness Entrepreneurs & Innovators (Fully Funded to USA)

Application Deadline: May 24th 2019

East African entrepreneurs, MSU, and external partners connect via the U.S. Department of State funded Professional Fellows Program – Advancing Young Women Agribusiness Entrepreneurs and Innovators.

The Professional Fellows Program – Advancing Women Agribusiness Entrepreneurs and Innovators hosted at Michigan State University (MSU) connects Ugandan, Tanzanian, and Kenyan agribusiness professionals and entrepreneurs with their counterparts in Michigan for knowledge exchange and capacity building. The program strengthens visiting fellows’ skills in agro-entrepreneurship and agri-food system innovation, and addresses issues of women’s economic empowerment.

Requirements:

MSU is recruiting young Tanzanian, Kenyan, and Ugandan professionals from diverse backgrounds in private, public, non-governmental, and education sectors who are either women agribusiness entrepreneurs or individuals working to increase women’s economic engagement in the agricultural sector.

• Women entrepreneurs, social innovators, or small and medium business owners or managers and other leaders working in the agriculture and food sectors
• Individuals (of any gender) in civil society and NGOs working on programs that support women in the agriculture and food sectors in their respective countries
• Policymakers, ministry employees, and others in the public sector (of any gender) focused on supporting and improving opportunities for women in the agriculture or food sector
• Academic staff (of any gender) who are implementing programs to impact advancing women in the agriculture and food sectors

Eligibility

• 25-40 years old
• A citizen, national, or permanent resident of Tanzania, Kenya, or Uganda
• Is living and working in Tanzania, Kenya, or Uganda at the time of the application
• Speaks fluent English
• Has at least 2 years of professional/working experience in their field
• Has demonstrated leadership and collaborative skills and a commitment to community
• Has employer’s support for participating in the program (for those not self-employed). For those self-employed, has recommendation from local authorities at the district, county, and/or community levels
• Is interested in participating in a reciprocal program for American participants coming to your country
• Preference will be given to those who are in an earlier state of their careers 
• Preference will be given to applicants who have not previously had the opportunity to travel to the US

Timeline:

24 May 2019: Application deadline

Program Dates

Spring 2019: April 27, 2019 – June 1, 2019
Fall 2019: October 18, 2019 – November 23, 2019

Contact Information

For more information about the program, please contact:

Tanzania

Dr. John Jeckoniah
Coordinator, Center for Gender Studies
Sokoine University of Agriculture
[email protected]

Kenya

Prof. Agnes Mwang’ombe
Professor of Plant Pathology
University of Nairobi
[email protected]

Uganda

Dr. Kebirungi Harriet
Head, Gender Mainstreaming Department
Kyambogo University
[email protected]

United States

Dr. Amy Jamison
Co-Director
Alliance for African Partnership
[email protected]

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the MSU Professional Fellows Program