Deadline: 20-Jan-23

Applications are now open for the Ashinaga Africa Initiative (AAI), an international leadership program that cultivates the next generation of leaders to contribute to the development of Sub-Saharan Africa.

AAI Scholars have lost one or both parents and are committed to returning to Sub-Saharan Africa to initiate change, innovation, and development. The AAI provides access to full financial support to study at university abroad (equivalent to an undergraduate degree), including tuition, room, travel costs and other necessary fees.

Stages

The programme has three stages.

• Study Camp and Preparation Camp
  • Ashinaga will select students from each Sub-Saharan African country to participate in a Study Camp in Uganda or Senegal from July to December 2023. Anglophone students will normally attend the Camp in Uganda, with Francophone students attending the Camp in Senegal. During the Study Camp, students are assisted in their academic preparation, university applications (to either Japan, the U.K., the U.S.A., or Europe), career planning and leadership development. After completing the Study Camp, the students will progress to a second camp called Preparation Camp. This happens between April and June 2024. Students prepare for the social, cultural, and academic differences they will discover abroad. Students will then proceed to university in August or September of 2024. All of the costs during both camps are fully covered by Ashinaga.
• During University
  • The AAI helps student’s access full financial support to study abroad. The support covers the first possible qualification that can be earned, and the costs of a foundation or preparatory course will also be covered if required. Ashinaga has regional offices to support students during studies in Japan, the U.K., the U.S.A., France and Brazil. Scholars will participate in a mandatory internship in their home country or Sub-Saharan Africa and join Ashinaga’s leadership development programmes. The AAI does not accept applications from students who wish to study for a second degree or master’s degree.
• After Graduation
  • Scholars have the responsibility to return to their home countries or Sub-Saharan Africa within four years after graduating and contribute to the country/region while living there for at least one year. They will have to contact Ashinaga during this period to provide information about their activity and residency.

Eligible Countries

• Applicants must have citizenship and have completed/are completing high school in one of the following countries:
  • Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, CAR, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, DRC, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Kenya, Kingdom of eSwatini, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Seychelles, Sudan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must:
  • Have lost one or both parents.
  • Have completed secondary school and received the results of their national secondary school examination (technical and vocational degrees not accepted) within the last two years (any date after 2nd August 2020, including all of 2021 and 2022) or will have completed secondary school and received final exam results before February 28th, 2023.
  • Be born after 1st September 2000.
  • Not have the means to attend university abroad without external financial support.
  • Be proficient in English, French or Portuguese.
  • Be regularly ranked in the top 10% of their class during their last 2 or 3 years of secondary school.
  • Be able to participate in the two Ashinaga preparatory programs, over the course of one year, before attending university.
  • Be committed to return home, or to Sub-Saharan Africa, and contribute to society in Sub-Saharan Africa after graduating from university.
  • Have no dependents who could interfere with academic progress.
  • Have a good enough health condition to be able to study abroad.

For more information, visit https://www.ashinaga.org/en/our-work/ashinaga-africa-initiative/apply-to-the-aai/