Announcing the 2026 Global Africa Gateway Summer Internship Program

January 26, 2026

The Africa Center and Afreximbank have partnered to establish the Global Africa Gateway initiative at The Africa Center’s home base in Harlem, New York. Holding the continent at the heart of their respective mandates, both institutions are committed to exploring opportunities for more effective interactions between the African continent and its wide diaspora. The Global Africa Gateway is a considerable step towards these goals, providing a conduit for both institutions to significantly advance their efforts in building cultural and economic connections between the Diaspora and the continent. By creating opportunities for the Diaspora to play an active role in Africa’s growth, this new mandate builds on lessons from The Africa Center’s rich history, which remains fiercely committed to the institution’s core purpose of centering Africa and its people in Africa’s story. As part of the Global Africa Gateway, the initiative offers a fully-funded internship program supporting graduate-level students from the diaspora in pursuing professional experiences in their fields of study with organizations working on the continent.


2026 GLOBAL AFRICA GATEWAY COHORT

An essential part of the GAG initiative, the summer internship program identifies and matches highly skilled and qualified candidates in the U.S. looking for substantive professional experiences in Africa, with reputable companies and organizations based on the continent. For its 2026 cohort, the Global Africa Gateway is recruiting 9 currently-enrolled or recently graduated students who demonstrate a strong interest in establishing professional ties to the African continent. Candidates will have the opportunity to apply for a range of experiences with particular emphasis on internships in the fields of finance, construction, commodities, law, and NGOs. Internship opportunities in summer 2026 are available across the continent. Please review the host organization section for more details.

Selected interns will receive a USD$10,000 stipend to cover the costs of travel, lodging, and other expenses. The experiences are designed to run for a duration of 8-12 weeks and the internship position will offer a schedule of up to 40 hours per week. Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee including TAC, Afreximbank, and host organization partners.


ELIGIBILITY

The program is open to applicants who are:

  • U.S. citizens of African descent.
  • Students currently enrolled in full-time graduate-level study or recent graduates (within 6 months of graduation) from an accredited institution.
  • Fluent in English and in any other African Union official working languages (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, and Kiswahili).
  • Applicants must be aged between 22 and 35 at the time of application.
  • Meet all other requirements specified in the terms of reference.


APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

For full consideration, interested candidates must submit all of the following information by the deadline of February 27th, 2026, at 11:59pm ET:

  • 1000-word personal statement outlining their specific interests, ambitions, and why working on the continent is of interest.
  • A resume/CV
  • Two professional/academic references
  • A passport valid for at least six months beyond the intended dates of travel.


IMPORTANT DATES:

  • Selected Candidate Notified: March 15th
  • Internship Period: May-August 2026

POTENTIAL HOST ORGANIZATIONS

  • Afreximbank (Cairo, Egypt): A global financial institution committed to transforming Africa’s trade. Driven to stimulate a consistent expansion, diversification, and development of African trade, while operating as a first-class, profit-oriented, socially responsible financial institution and a center of excellence in African trade matters.

Profiles of interest: Finance, business analytics, investment banking, and law.

  • ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms (West Africa, TBD): Arise IIP identifies industrial gaps in African countries that unlock value and create new industries. Its aim is to industrialize key sectors by creating local transformation, maximizing production, efficiency, and cost, which in turn generates local value addition. Longstanding partnerships with governments and investors enable Arise IIP to execute large-scale projects that transform local value chains and industrialize countries in an environmentally sustainable way. ARISE IIP operates in 11 countries, leveraging tailored special economic zones such as those in Gabon, Benin, and Togo to drive exports, foster local processing of raw materials, and facilitate trade.

Profiles of interest: Operations, marketing, legal, environment & sustainability, finance, and business analytics.

  • ETG (Lilongwe, Malawi): A global, multisectoral player with a diverse portfolio of expertise across multiple industries, encompassing Agricultural inputs, logistics, merchandising and processing, supply chain optimization, digital transformation and energy. ETG is particularly active in the upliftment of farming communities; an unhindered commitment since its establishment.

Profiles of interest: Finance and operations.

  • International Organization for Migration (Cairo, Egypt): The leading intergovernmental organization in the field of migration, committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. IOM is part of the United Nations system as a related organization. IOM supports migrants across the world, developing effective responses to the shifting dynamics of migration and, as such, is a key source of advice on migration policy and practice. The organization works in emergency situations, developing the resilience of all people on the move, and particularly those in situations of vulnerability, as well as building capacity within governments to manage all forms and impacts of mobility.

Profiles of interest: Political science, international relations, migration studies, social enterprise.

  • Mota-Engil (Luanda, Angola): An international group with a long history operating in the sectors of civil construction, public works, port operations, waste, water, and logistics. Mota-Engil enjoys an unrivalled position in Africa thanks to an ongoing investment in its capacity for the mobilisation of resources for the completion of large scale projects, Mota-Engil Africa has a strategic perspective in the long term and a broad horizon of action while it endeavours to establish ever closer partnerships in infrastructure projects in areas as varied as Transport and Logistics, Energy, Oil & Gas, Mining and the Environment.

Profiles of interest: Construction and engineering.

  • PAC Holdings (Lagos, Nigeria): A Lagos‑based proprietary investment company focused on high‑impact investments across Africa’s key sectors. The company is active in areas such as financial services, real estate and infrastructure, agriculture, hospitality and entertainment, and technology and payment systems.

Profiles of interest: Investment banking and finance.


HOW TO APPLY

Please send all required materials by the application deadline to careers@theafricacenter.org. Selected candidates can expect to be notified by March 15th.