THE chairperson of the United States-Zimbabwe Alumni Exchange Association (AEA), Freedom Mukanga, has become the first Zimbabwean to receive the prestigious Mandela Washington Fellowship Leadership Impact Award, marking a major milestone for the country’s global leadership footprint.
The award recognises Mukanga’s exceptional leadership and impact across business, youth development and climate resilience, highlighting Zimbabwe’s growing influence on the continental and global stages. His achievements demonstrate how local innovators are shaping solutions to pressing challenges, while building networks with international partners that connect Africa.
Mukanga emerged top among thousands of fellows continent-wide, with the award presented during a hybrid ceremony held on January 21, 2026, at the United States embassy in Harare, officiated by US ambassador to Zimbabwe Pamela Tremont.
The honour comes barely two months after Mukanga received the International Entrepreneurship Impact Award from the University of Iowa on November 21, 2025.
“Freedom is a 2022 alumnus of the fellowship, through which he completed the Leadership in Business Track at the University of Iowa’s Institute for International Business,” the AEA statement read.
“This accolade comes hot on the heels of yet another recent award, which saw him receive the International Entrepreneurship Impact Award from the University of Iowa on November 21, 2025.”
Mukanga is the chief executive officer of FreedPer Scientific, a weather and water data instrumentation company that develops innovative observation solutions aimed at strengthening climate resilience.
- US honours Zimbabwean with 2025 Mandela Washington Fellowship Impact Award
- Zimbabwean honoured with Mandela Washington Fellowship Leadership Impact Award
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He co-founded Hozi Innovator, a youth-focused accelerator programme operating across the region and chairs the Communications Committee of the African Meteorological Society.
“Freedom embodies stellar steward leadership, demonstrated not only through the Leadership Impact Award but also through his role as board chairperson of the US-Zimbabwe AEA Board,” the statement read.
The US-Zimbabwe Alumni Exchange Association Board is a national, alumni-led body that governs Zimbabwean participants in US government-sponsored exchange programmes. It oversees a network of more than 2 000 alumni from initiatives including the Young African Leaders Initiative, Hubert H Humphrey Fellowship, International Visitor Leadership Programme, Fulbright Programme, Academy for Women Entrepreneurs and the Mandela Washington Fellowship.
