STILLWATER, Okla. — Twenty-five young business professionals and leaders from 18 African countries kicked off their six-week Mandela Washington Fellowship this week at Oklahoma State University.

Fellows will focus on learning about business and entrepreneurship while working with the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business.

The fellows are among more than 1,000 African participants being hosted at 38 U.S. universities in 25 different states. Oklahoma State’s is one of 15 programs focused on business and entrepreneurship. Civil leadership and public management are the tracks offered at the other universities.

“As a flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative, the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, which began in 2014, is designed to empower young leaders from sub-Saharan Africa through academic coursework, leadership training and networking opportunities,” an OSU press release said.

The Oklahoma State fellows are staying on the university’s campus.

Craig Watters, executive director of the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship, said he looks forward to learning about the fellows’ businesses.

“You all have a business or business dream,” Watters said. “We will help you develop your business.”

That was good news to Regis Ezin, 31, of Benin, who wants to expand his snack food business to a larger audience. Ezin said his business takes traditional recipes and modernizes them, creating African snacks all can enjoy. His business is the first in West Africa to incorporate resealable zipper packaging, Ezin said.

Dorcas Maliro, 27, of Malawi, and Sandiso Mkwananzi, of Zimbabwe, got to know each other while talking about their businesses.

Maliro grows mushrooms and works with rural women and youth, discussing agriculture production.

Mkwananzi coaches local startups for people ages 12-30 and helps to develop their ideas and make them better entrepreneurs.

Manuela Pacutho, 31, of Uganda, is founder of a 24-hour infant and toddler child care facility.

“My friends call me ‘baby mama,’” she said.

The first-of-its-kind facility also has a curriculum program to help prepare youngsters for school and to give their mothers a chance to work, Pacutho said.

“If I don’t raise them now, I don’t know what will happen to my country a few years from now,” Pacutho said.

Only between 27-39 percent of the workforce in her country are women, according to Pacutho. With 75 percent of the population under age 30 and many women busy having children, the percentage of working women isn’t going up, Pacutho said.

“I want to help women with career advancement,” Pacutho said.

Ivon Gbeto, 29, of Benin, who owns a restaurant and cell phone business, is excited to network with American and African leaders. He hopes to improve his restaurant business and learn to become his own food supplier, he said.

Tatiana Mbang Nsue Asangono, 30, of Equatorial Guinea, runs a wholesale store supplying retail businesses with basics like frozen meat, soap, batteries, oil and toilet paper.

Asangono is hopeful networking with other fellows will lead to new suppliers and more business.

“I hope to get knowledge and skills and have more innovative ideas for my business,” she said.

Watters spoke about the importance of relationship building and how OSU students want to do global work and how this fellowship gives them that chance.

“We are excited to be able to host this event at OSU and are confident our curriculum will allow for them to understand how their businesses can be sustainable back home,” Watters said in a press release.

Richie Roberts, a PhD students in the Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership department wrote a grant that was supported by the U.S. Department of State, in order to fund the fellowship.

At the end of July the fellows from OSU will meet up with all other fellows in Washington, D.C. for the Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit before heading home.

Britton writes for the Stillwater, Oklahoma News Press.