Advance Your Agri Food Career: SHEAF Fellowship 2026 for Women in Kenya Malawi Senegal (Up to 25 Fellows)

If you are a woman working on agriculture and food systems in Kenya, Malawi, or Senegal and want to sharpen leadership skills, build a powerful regional network, and learn practical ways to design gender-responsive policy and programs, the She Leads African Food Futures (SHEAF) Fellowship 2026 is made for you. This is an immersive professional development program blending targeted training, one-on-one mentoring, peer learning, and practical skills that help you influence policy and programs that affect farmers, food value chains, and communities.

Think of it like a concentrated leadership lab for women in agri-food systems: you get carefully tailored learning, coaching to refine your influence, and a cohort of peers who can open doors across sectors. Up to 25 fellows will be selected — a small, focused group where relationships matter and your voice can travel farther than a single conference presentation.

This article walks you through everything you need to know to decide if you should apply, how to prepare the strongest application possible, and practical next steps so you can actually hit Submit before the deadline. Read on for a quick facts table, deep-dive sections on eligibility and testimonials-style tips, and an ironclad timeline that will keep your application from becoming a midnight scramble.

At a Glance

What This Opportunity Offers

SHEAF is not a cash grant; it’s a professional acceleration program. The Fellowship supplies curated training in leadership and gender-responsive agricultural programming, paired with mentoring and coaching. That means you’ll learn frameworks for policy design, get hands-on feedback to sharpen those ideas, and practice communication strategies that help you move policy from paper to action.

Beyond formal training, the program invests in relational capital. You’ll join a cohort of women across ministries, research institutions, NGOs, and businesses. Those cohort bonds are currency: future collaborators, referees for promotion, and allies when you need to pilot a new approach in your country or region.

The Fellowship also builds practical technical capacity. Expect training modules that help you analyze gender gaps in value chains, design indicators for gender-responsive programs, and create advocacy plans that resonate with both technical experts and decision-makers. Mentors and coaches will push you to translate theory into deliverables — policy briefs, program adjustments, or concrete pilot activities you can take back to your workplace.

Finally, fellows typically receive ongoing peer learning opportunities after the program concludes. That can include virtual communities, follow-up coaching, or invitations to present at regional convenings. The cumulative effect is more influence, not just more credentials.

Who Should Apply

This Fellowship is aimed at African women across career stages who are actively engaged in agri-food systems in Kenya, Malawi, and Senegal. That’s intentionally broad: you could be a mid-level official in a ministry, a program manager at an NGO running farmer trainings, a researcher studying gender and markets, a private-sector agribusiness leader, or an advocate from civil society pushing for inclusion in national policy.

If your day job includes designing or implementing programs, advising policymakers, producing research intended to influence programs, or managing projects that affect women farmers and value chains — apply. The program favors people who can take what they learn back into a real role where it will change policies, programs, or practices.

A few concrete profiles that fit well:

• A gender specialist in a national agricultural ministry who wants proven methods to design gender indicators for new programs.
• A research lead at a university who wants to convert gender-related research findings into policy briefs that ministerial staff will actually read.
• An NGO program manager piloting interventions for women smallholders and needing skills to scale learnings through government engagement.
• A private-sector program leader working on inclusive supply chains who wants tools to influence buyers and regulators.

If you’re early-career (e.g., project coordinator or junior researcher), you can still be a strong candidate if you show clear leadership potential and institutional backing. The Fellowship values applicants across career stages, provided they can explain how participation will accelerate their capacity to influence agri-food systems.

Insider Tips for a Winning Application

This section is your playbook. These are practical moves that make a reviewer sit up and say “yes.”

1. Tell a tight story about impact. Start with a one-paragraph narrative that answers: What specific problem have you worked on? What was your role? What concrete result or lesson did you produce? Reviewers want to see action and outcomes, not abstract passion.

2. Show how you will use the Fellowship. Don’t write a generic career pitch. Describe a specific plan — a policy brief you’ll draft, an employer pilot you’ll redesign, or a training module you’ll roll out. Name the stakeholders you’ll influence and the short-term outputs (e.g., “a policy brief for the Ministry of Agriculture on gender-sensitive fertilizer subsidies”).

3. Emphasize measurable results and learning objectives. Replace fuzzy goals like “improve gender equality” with measurable changes: “increase women’s access to extension services by X% in pilot districts” or “draft three policy recommendations within six months.”

4. Secure a clear letter of support from your employer. If your organization will allow time for participation or commit to piloting something afterwards, get that in writing. A short, specific employer endorsement can shift an application from hopeful to fundable.

5. Make your leadership track record visible. Leadership isn’t just a title. Describe moments you convinced a team, led a stakeholder process, or improved a program. Concrete examples beat resume lists every time.

6. Demonstrate English proficiency subtly and directly. If the Fellowship is delivered in English, your application should be crisp and readable. If you have test scores or professional evidence (published reports, presentations), reference them or attach samples.

7. Prepare a concise evidence package. Attach or summarize one key deliverable you produced (policy brief, evaluation summary, research brief, program report). That gives reviewers a quick read of your product quality.

8. Use numbers and timelines. Recruiters hate vagueness. Add timelines, percentages, budget lines (if relevant) and concrete indicators of success. Make it easy for reviewers to imagine you finishing the project.

9. Prioritize clarity over jargon. Use plain English. If you must use technical terms, define them in one sentence. Reviewers are busy and appreciate readability.

10. Draft early and revise. Have three reviewers: one sector expert, one nonspecialist who can test readability, and one mentor who knows your career trajectory.

Those tips add up. If you implement them, your application will read like someone who knows both their field and how to get change done.

Application Timeline (Work Backwards from Deadline)

The application portal closes at midnight on January 31, 2026 (East Africa Time GMT+3). Here’s a realistic, no-surprises schedule to follow:

• 8–10 weeks before deadline (mid-November 2025): Decide to apply. Draft your one-page concept and ask your supervisor if they’ll provide a letter of support. Register for any required account on the application portal.

• 6–8 weeks before deadline (late November to early December 2025): Prepare CV and supporting documents. Pull together a sample deliverable you’ll attach (policy brief, report). Draft your personal statement and a clear plan for how you’ll use the Fellowship.

• 4–5 weeks before deadline (December 2025): Circulate your draft to two reviewers — one peer in your field and one non-specialist. Incorporate feedback; tighten language.

• 2 weeks before deadline (mid-January 2026): Secure and upload letters, confirm translations or proof of citizenship if needed, double-check all fields in the online form, and prepare attachments in the required formats (PDF preferred).

• 48–72 hours before deadline: Final read-through. Convert documents to PDF, check file sizes, and submit early to avoid last-minute technical issues.

• After submission: Expect notification timelines to vary. If you don’t hear back by the dates listed in the Fellowship page, email the program contact and ask for an update.

Required Materials (How to Prepare Them)

The Fellowship announcement lists general application requirements but not an exhaustive list of documents. Based on similar programs, assemble the following to be ready:

• A current CV (2–4 pages): Focus on roles relevant to agri-food systems and leadership. Highlight policy influence, program implementation, publications, and notable achievements.

• Personal statement / motivation letter (1–2 pages): Explain who you are, what you’ve done, and what you will do differently after the Fellowship. Use the “problem–action–result” pattern: describe a problem, the action you took, and the result.

• Project or impact plan (1 page): A concise plan describing how you will apply Fellowship learning — expected outputs, stakeholders, and timelines. Be specific (who, what, when).

• Letter of support from employer or partner (1 page): Confirm that you have permission to participate and that your employer will support the follow-on work.

• Work sample (policy brief, program report, or research summary) (2–4 pages or link): Attach one example of your work that shows your writing and practical impact.

• Proof of citizenship or ID (as required): Passport page or national ID showing citizenship of Kenya, Malawi, or Senegal.

• Language proficiency evidence (if available): Publications, reports, or formal test scores. If none, ensure your application is clearly written in English.

• Contact details for two referees: People who can speak to your leadership and technical competence.

Prepare these materials well before the deadline, and save PDFs with clear file names (e.g., SURNAME_CV.pdf). If the online form permits additional uploads, use that space to strengthen your case but avoid redundancy.

What Makes an Application Stand Out

Reviewers look for three broad things: potential for change, readiness to act, and capacity to absorb the training. Applications that stand out combine all three.

Potential for change: You must show that the skills you’ll gain will be applied in a place where they matter. That’s why a clear follow-on plan or employer commitment is critical. Programs want fellows who will change things after they return.

Readiness to act: Evidence of past action is persuasive. If you’ve led a small-scale pilot, improved a program process, or produced an evidence brief used by policymakers, highlight that. It tells reviewers you won’t just learn — you’ll act.

Capacity to absorb and share learning: Programs like cohort learning. Tell reviewers how you’ll share results (internal workshops, policy briefs, community training). Showing a multiplier effect — that your learning will reach others — is a major plus.

Balance technical rigor and political savvy. An application that pairs solid technical work (gender analysis methods, measurement plans) with a realistic strategy to influence decision-makers will score highly.

Finally, clarity and polish matter. A concise, error-free application that answers every question wins more often than a longer, muddled one.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Here are predictable traps applicants fall into — and how to avoid them.

1. Vague follow-up plan. Mistake: saying you’ll “use the learning” without details. Fix: provide a one-page plan with stakeholders, outputs, and dates.

2. Missing employer buy-in. Mistake: no letter or a weak endorsement. Fix: get a clear, signed statement from your manager that says they will allow your time and pilot your ideas.

3. Overly academic proposals with no application pathway. Mistake: a research-heavy pitch without implementation steps. Fix: tie research to a specific program or policy you’ll influence.

4. Jargon-heavy writing. Mistake: dense technical language. Fix: write for an intelligent non-specialist; define terms briefly.

5. Waiting until the last minute. Mistake: technical failures and incomplete uploads. Fix: submit 48–72 hours early.

6. Poorly formatted or missing attachments. Mistake: unreadable files or wrong file types. Fix: use PDFs, check file names, and run a final file inspection.

Avoiding these mistakes elevates your probability of being selected. Be deliberate, not frantic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who can apply?
A: Women who are citizens of Kenya, Malawi, or Senegal and who work in agriculture and food systems across sectors (government, NGOs, academia, private sector, civil society, regional organizations).

Q: Is the Fellowship delivered in English?
A: Yes. Applicants must have sufficient English proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking to participate fully.

Q: Are men or non-citizens eligible?
A: The Fellowship targets African women citizens of Kenya, Malawi, and Senegal. If you are not a citizen of those countries or are male, this specific Fellowship is not the right fit.

Q: How many fellows will be selected?
A: Up to 25 fellows will be chosen for the 2026 cohort.

Q: Do I need prior leadership experience?
A: Prior leadership experience helps but is not strictly required. What matters is demonstrated potential and a clear plan for applying your learning.

Q: Will the Fellowship pay travel or stipends?
A: The announcement highlights training, mentoring, and network benefits but does not specify financial awards. Check the official page for details about travel support or stipends.

Q: Is preference given to AGRA affiliated candidates?
A: There is a special focus on women working with AGRA-supported organizations and programs, which may influence selection.

Q: Can I include regional work or cross-country projects?
A: Yes. Applicants working at organizational, national, regional, or continental levels are eligible.

How to Apply / Next Steps

Ready to apply? Do these five things in order:

1. Read the official fellowship page carefully and confirm you meet all basic eligibility requirements. Don’t skip small print about language or documentation.
2. Draft a one-page concept that answers: What will you do after the Fellowship? Who will benefit? What will success look like in 6–12 months?
3. Secure a letter of support from your employer or partner organization that commits to your participation and outlines how your learning will be used.
4. Prepare required documents: CV, personal statement, sample deliverable, ID, and referee contacts. Convert to PDF and name files clearly.
5. Submit your application well before midnight EAT on January 31, 2026. Aim for at least 48 hours early to avoid surprises.

Get Started

Ready to apply? Visit the official opportunity page and submit your application: https://bit.ly/SHEAF26

If something on the website is unclear, contact the program administrators listed there. And if you want feedback on your draft application before you submit, find a mentor or colleague to read it through — a fresh set of eyes will catch the things you can’t see after working too long on a single document.

Good luck. If you make the cohort, expect your network and influence to grow quicker than most promotions—because real influence often comes down to the right combination of skill, relationships, and timing.