Published: 11 Nov 2025 1,007 views
The Obama Foundation’s Leaders program aims to inspire, empower, and connect regional cohorts of changemakers to accelerate positive and lasting change in their communities and throughout their region and across our world.
These 24-45-year-old emerging leaders from around the world forge societies and communities rooted in shared values, where all people belong, participate, and thrive.
Leaders Africa is a six-month, non-residential, virtual leadership journey for 35 emerging leaders from across the continent focused on exploring values-based leadership skills and building deep relationships with fellow cohort members.
The Leaders Africa program seeks to identify exceptional leaders in public, civil society, and the private sector who have a clear issue-focus and who can illustrate the impact of their work. Our objective is to build a network of values-based leaders, who create positive, innovative change in their communities, throughout Africa, and around the world.
Weekly Virtual Video Calls: These live virtual sessions are the primary form of collective engagement. These connections, an average of four times monthly, offer a mix of new content (conversations with experts, introductions to leadership frameworks, skill-building, etc.) and interactive, small-group work in breakout rooms.
Monthly Community Groups: Leaders work in peer learning groups that encourage deeper relationship-building and peer-learning, and offer opportunities to reflect on case studies of prominent African leaders, or discuss open questions from the group sessions.
Individualized Leadership Coaching: Each Leader is paired with a coach to help them gain self-awareness, clarify goals, brainstorm ideas, achieve their development objectives, and unlock their potential.
The Barack Obama Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization founded in 2014. It oversees the creation of the Barack Obama Presidential Center, runs the My Brother's Keeper Alliance (a program Barack Obama began while he was president), and operates a scholarship program through the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy. The foundation held its inaugural summit on October 31, 2017, in Chicago. According to Barack Obama, he intends for his foundation to be central to many of his post-presidential ac... continue reading
| Application Deadline | 12 Dec 2025 |
| Type | Fellowship |
| Sponsor | Obama Foundation |
| Gender | Men and Women |
The program currently invites individuals residing in all countries and territories in the continent of Africa.
You must meet one of the following criteria:
Citizen of an African country or territory OR
Permanent resident of an African country or territory OR
Have lived in an African country or territory for at least the last 5 years, regardless of citizenship or permanent residence status
You are professionally proficient in English and you will be between 24 and 45 years of age on September 1, 2026.
You will refrain from participating in an electoral campaign as a candidate for political office from the time you are accepted into the program through May 1, 2027. Selection decisions are currently scheduled to be sent out in June 2026.
You can demonstrate at least 3 years of relevant experience in your issue area.
Check also:
Tony Elumelu Foundation African Entrepreneurship Programme 2026
For more details, visit Obama Foundation Leaders Program webpage
