The scholarship programme “Leadership for Africa” (LfA) aims to support the academic qualification and advancement of young refugees and national scholars from Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Mauritania at higher education institutions in Germany. In times of conflicts and displacement in various African countries, this programme intends to contribute to the education of future leaders, who will be essential for the further development of their home countries. “Leadership for Africa” offers scholarships for Master's studies in Germany to qualified applicants in all fields of study except for Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry, Law, Fine Arts and Architecture. All “Leadership for Africa” scholarship holders benefit from a complementary training programme in good governance, civil society and career development. The mandatory programme must be completed in addition to the regular studies.

The programme targets two groups:
1) Highly qualified refugees who hold refugee status and fulfil the necessary qualifications for Master’s studies in Germany.
Applicants must fulfil the following conditions:

• Holding refugee status in their host countries, being granted before 2nd of April, 2023
• Country of asylum must be either Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, or Mauritania
• Completed Bachelor’s degree at the time of application

2) Highly qualified graduates from Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, or Mauritania who fulfil the necessary qualifications for Master’s studies in Germany.
Applicants must fulfil the following conditions:

• Citizenship of either Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, or Mauritania
• Country of residence is Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, or Mauritania
• Completed Bachelor’s degree at the time of application

Please note:

• With a Degree in Medicine, you can apply for Public Health or Biomedical Master related programmes only. A Master programme in Medicine is not eligible for funding.
• For applicants from artistic disciplines and the field of architecture, the DAAD offers subject-specific scholarship programmes (see separate DAAD scholarship offers in the scholarship database).

The scholarship includes:

• German language course (up to 6 months) in Germany before the start of the university studies
• Tuition-free M.A. or M.Sc. degree programme at a public or state-recognized university in Germany starting in winter term 2025 (September/October 2025)
• Additional mandatory training programme LEAD!

Generally, selected candidates will start their German language course in April 2025 at the earliest and take up their studies at a German institution of higher education by approx. October 1st, 2025. The duration of funding is determined by the standard period of study of the chosen programme. In general, eligible Master’s programmes require two years of full-time study.

A pre-selection will take place based on the submitted application documents. Only complete applications with all mandatory documents will be considered. Preselected candidates will be invited to an (digital) interview with an independent selection committee of university professors.
In addition to previous achievements in university (Bachelor's degree), language skills and the general motivation, the main selection criterion is a convincing description of the planned studies in Germany and the suitable choice of study programmes in the DAAD form "Study course profile".
To ensure equal opportunities, social criteria such as special life circumstances, migration background or students from non-academic families can play a role. Criteria such as social engagement about which you can provide information in the application form are also taken into account.

For further information on the selection procedure, please refer to the Important Scholarship Information, Section E.