The Austin Chamber of Commerce, through Innovate Austin, and in collaboration with WeWork Austin and Dropbox Austin welcomed the Mandela Washington Fellows (MWF) on June 24, 2015 for a “Welcome to Austin - The Innovation Economy” workshop.

These 25 young African entrepreneurs are spending several weeks in Austin learning about the extensive startup community in the region, in conjunction with The University of Texas. The Fellows will have the opportunity to connect with our collaborative Austin startup scene, including growing partnerships and exploring the city’s entrepreneur ecosystem, ultimately ending in a pitch competition.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), part of President Obama’s commitment to invest in the future of Africa. The goal is to empower the next generation of leaders with skills and knowledge to strengthen democracy, spur economic growth, and enhance peace and security across Africa.

“Austin’s innovation ecosystem has never been stronger. Austin is now ranked the number one U.S. city for startups in the latest annual Kauffman Index report,” said Michele Skelding, SVP of Global Technology and Innovation at the Austin Chamber of Commerce. “We are thrilled to partner with WeWork and Dropbox and welcome the YALI participants, who are poised to make their mark [with] extraordinary ideas impacting global change.”

For more information about MWF or YALI click here.

To meet UT Austin's 2015 Fellows click here.