The MasterCard Foundation together with the White House, have announced a commitment towards supporting The Obama administration’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), a signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders.

President Obama launched YALI in 2010 to support young African leaders as they spur growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa.

Over the next 5 years, MasterCard Foundation will invest some 10 million dollars to help YALI reach nearly 10, 000 young men and women in Africa.

The announcement will be made during a conference dubbed ‘The Presidential Summit of the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders’which will be held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington.

The three-day conference, which starts from July 28 through to July 30, will bring together 500 of sub-Saharan Africa’s most promising young leaders to meet with U.S. entrepreneurs, government officials, and civil society representatives.

President Obama will be unveiling plans to create a network of YALI Regional Leadership Centers across Africa; to be located in leading universities in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Senegal.

The Centers will provide practical training and development opportunities for emerging leaders on the continent, as well as a platform for their voices to be heard.

The Presidential Summit follows six weeks of academic study at 20 institutions across the United States as part of the Washington Fellowship.

The YALI Regional Leadership Centres are part of a larger investment by the MasterCard Foundation in “Economic Opportunities for Youth” initiatives.

The Foundation has already made commitments totalling to $177 million in 17 countries to initiatives that are providing young people with demand-driven job skills, life skills, mentorship, and access to financial services.  These skills and services enable young people to find more secure and productive forms of employment or establish successful micro-enterprises. ​