The U.S. Embassy is proud to announce the 2024 cohort from Guyana for the U.S. Department of State’s Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Fellowship Program.
Launched in 2015, YLAI empowers emerging entrepreneurs from the Western Hemisphere to enable the full economic potential of the region’s citizens.
This year’s YLAI fellowship program launched in October 2023 and will continue through April 2024, bringing together 280 young leaders from 37 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada.
This year we are pleased to announce that three young leaders from Guyana; Brian Smith, Nakaida Belle-Lindie and Shellon Lynch have been accepted out of over 50 local applicants and over 2000 applicants globally. 
The 2024 YLAI Fellowship Program, sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, launched in December with a virtual Fellowship Leadership Curriculum and orientation.
In March, fellows will split into cohorts and travel to 19 cities across the United States for four-week professional placements with U.S. businesses. They will collaborate with their peers to address shared business challenges, as well as engage in virtual and in-person events and cross-cultural activities.
The program concludes with a Closing Forum in Washington, D.C. in April. Fellows return to their ventures with new skills, resources, ongoing support from U.S. counterparts, and a broader network, strengthening business ties between the U.S. and Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada. The https://ylai.state.gov/ website includes information about the YLAI Fellows Program and the YLAI Network. (U.S Embassy press release)
