World Bank Group Africa Fellowship Program
World Bank Group
Six-month paid fellowship (from Jan 2027) at World Bank Group HQ in Washington DC or a country office for Sub-Saharan African nationals aged 32 or under in the final year of a PhD or within 3 years of finishing it. Applications open 15 Jul-25 Aug 2026; 3 Ghanaians in 2026 cohort.
Verified today · verified by our team · Official page
Create a free student account to check your eligibility and get reminders.
Eligibility
- Who can apply
- Sub saharan africa
- Education required
- Masters completed
- Age
- up to 32 (Must be aged 32 or younger by 1 January 2027)
- Fields
- Any field of study
- Language
- Excellent command of English, both written and verbal
- Also required
- National of a Sub-Saharan African country
- Recent PhD graduate (within three years of completion) or enrolled in the last year of the PhD programme, in an area relevant to the World Bank's work
- Strong quantitative and analytical skills
- Available for a six-month consultant assignment starting January 2027 in Washington, D.C. or a country office
About this opportunity
Since 2013 the World Bank Group Africa Fellowship Program has given young African scholars completing or recently finished with a PhD relevant to the Bank's work six months of hands-on experience at WBG headquarters in Washington, D.C. or a country office. Fellows are hired as World Bank consultants from January, work on operations and research across sectors such as agriculture, health, infrastructure, education, trade and climate, and join an alumni network. The 2026 cohort had 24 fellows (7 women) chosen from 2,947 candidates, including three from Ghana.
Applicants must be Sub-Saharan African nationals aged 32 or younger by 1 January 2027, and either recent PhD graduates (within three years) or in the last year of their PhD, with excellent English and strong quantitative and analytical skills. Apply via the online WBG-Africa Fellowship portal.
- Level
- PhD, Postdoc, Early career
- Where
- United States
- Duration
- 6 months, starting January 2027
- Number of awards
- 24 fellows in the 2026 cohort (from 2,947 candidates; 67 shortlisted)
- Difficulty
- Very high · about 1 weeks to prepare
Funding
Funding varies
- salary
Fellows are hired as World Bank consultants for six months; remuneration, travel and relocation terms are not published on the public programme page.
What you will need
- CV / résumé
- Other documents
Application is an 8-step online form on wbgfellowship.worldbank.org (personal details, citizenship/passport, education, etc.); the public page does not publish the full document checklist or reference requirements.
Track this application and eStudent360 turns the list into a checklist and, with Plus, a dated plan that works back from the deadline.