































   Advancements in Agricultural Development 
  Volume 6, Issue 3, 2025 
  agdevresearch.org 

 

1. Mahamane S. Cissé, Educational Consultant, 1440 Hebron Church Road, Statham, GA 30666, msaliou@hotmail.com,  

 https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1586-6105 
2. M. Craig Edwards, Sarkeys Distinguished Professor of Agricultural Education, Oklahoma State University, 240 Agricultural 

Hall, Stillwater, OK 74078, craig.edwards@okstate.edu,  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4436-4450 
3. Lauren L. Cline, Assistant Professor, Oklahoma State University, 242 Agricultural Hall, Stillwater, OK 74078, 

lauren.l.cline@okstate.edu,  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4187-8122 
4. J. Shane Robinson, Professor & Head, Oklahoma State University, 225 Agricultural Hall, Stillwater, OK 74078, 

shane.robinson@okstate.edu,  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9506-5752 
5. Craig E. Watters, Clinical Associate Professor of Professional Practice, Director of Institute for Global Social 

Entrepreneurship, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, craig.watters@okstate.edu,  

 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4386-1818 
6. Lydia M. Martins, PhD student, Oklahoma State University, 215J Agricultural Hall, Stillwater, OK 74078, 

lydia.martins@okstate.edu,  https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5699-0096 
 

41 

 

Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa: Participants’ Views of 
a Professional Development Program’s Impact on Their 

Business Ventures Five Years Later  
 

M. Cissé 1, M. Edwards2, L. Cline3, J. Robinson4, C. Watters5, L. Martins6 
 

 
Article History 
Received: May 12, 2025 
Accepted: To August 24, 2025 
Published: September, 22 2025 
 
 
Keywords 
agribusiness; education; photovoice; 
SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic 
Growth   

Abstract 
We assessed the impact of Oklahoma State University’s 2018 MWFI on its 
participants, i.e., Fellows, approximately five years after they returned 
home. Twenty-five Fellows from 20 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) nations 
participated in a six-weeks-long training program sponsored by the U.S. 
Department of State. Our follow-up study sought to determine the 
Fellows’ satisfaction regarding the training, the primary benefits and 
achievements attributed to it, and the training-related developments of 
the Fellows’ businesses they selected to share. We collected quantitative 
and qualitative data to answer three questions, including a narrated 
photovoice request. Most Fellows indicated that they were satisfied with 
the training and would not have been equipped to improve their 
businesses without its contributions to their development. As such, 
results were supported conceptually by human capital theory. More 
planning by the funder who places Fellows and by the Institute’s 
providers may better address some Fellows’ specific learning needs and 
interests not fully met. Additional longitudinal studies, including 
economic analyses, are warranted.   

 

mailto:msaliou@hotmail.com
http://craig.edwards@okstate.edu
http://lauren.l.cline@okstate.edu
http://shane.robinson@okstate.edu
mailto:craig.watters@okstate.edu
mailto:lydia.martins@okstate.edu


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Introduction and Problem Statement 
 
Naudé (2009) argued that most developing nations had neglected entrepreneurship in their 
economic growth models due to hosting economies mostly controlled by state-owned 
enterprises and multinational companies, especially in the case of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) 
nations. However, attitudes have shifted toward more entrepreneurial economies due to 
rampant youth unemployment (Gough, 2016; Mukembo et al., 2020, 2023; Smith et al., 2023) 
and corruption in many state-run entities (Collier, 2007). Entrepreneurial ventures are regarded 
as capable of creating jobs, reducing poverty, and spurring economic growth (Bruton et al., 
2015). Although many entrepreneurs in SSA often lack basic business management skills (Mano 
et al., 2012), Ramachandran and Shah (1999) asserted that African entrepreneurs with 
secondary level education or higher have better managerial skills, suggesting that education 
improved their business acumen. Economists attribute the endemic poverty of many nations to 
the conflict trap, exacerbating social tensions, contributing to unemployment, destroying 
infrastructure, and deterring investment (Collier, 2007). Entrepreneurship has been used to 
catalyze economic and social change in nations recovering from conflicts, a condition plaguing 
many in SSA, by facilitating collaboration among ethnicities and reducing the distrust that often 
characterizes conflict-ridden regions. Oklahoma State University hosted a Mandela Washington 
Fellowship Institute (MWFI) for SSA entrepreneurs primarily in the agriculture and food sectors 
and for a few in STEM-related youth development ventures, i.e., social entrepreneurship. 
However, little data existed assessing the program’s long-term impact. Filling this gap could 
provide useful feedback, expand the related literature, address a World Bank concern regarding 
the evaluation of development efforts (Rother, 2007), and better enable stakeholders to judge 
the value of MWFIs. 
 

Theoretical and Conceptual Framework 
 
This study was guided conceptually by human capital theory (HCT) which also undergirded the 
planning and delivery of the project evaluated. Such provided a lens through which the impact 
of a training program could be assessed regarding participants’ satisfaction, behaviors involving 
entrepreneurship, and business enterprise development over time. HCT posits that investments 
in education and training improve an individual’s productivity and earning potential (Becker, 
1962, 1964, 1994; Schultz, 1961, 1971). And those who engage in professional development are 
more competitive in the job market and more capable of occupational success. The 
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2001) defined human capital as 
knowledge, skills, and experiences that enhance economic productivity.  
 
In this case, we examined how MWFI participation contributed to Fellows’ success as 
entrepreneurs, aligning with HCT’s claim that education leads to improved job performance, 
increased incomes, and higher motivation. HCT (Becker, 1964, 1994; Schultz, 1961, 1971) 
offered an analytical lens regarding how the MWFI training had impacted the entrepreneurship 
of its participants who were creating, maintaining, and expanding their business ventures in 
SSA. This framework, therefore, assisted us in exploring a MWFI’s long-term impact. 

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Purpose 
 
Our purpose was to assess the impact of Oklahoma State University’s 2018 MWFI on its 
participants, i.e., Fellows, approximately five years after they returned home, especially 
regarding satisfaction with the training program and the development of their entrepreneurial 
ventures. We sought to answer three research questions: (a) How satisfied were the Fellows 
with selected aspects of the training? (b) What primary benefits and achievements did the 
Fellows attribute to the training experiences? (c) What training-related developments of the 
Fellows’ businesses did they choose to visually document and narrate?      
 

Methods 
 
Our larger study (Cissé, 2023) was intended as a census, including all 25 Fellows who 
participated in the 2018 MWFI, i.e., 15 males and 10 females from 20 SSA countries, ranging in 
age from their early 20s to mid-30s. Most held at least an undergraduate degree. At time of the 
follow-up portion of the study in 2023, one female participant was deceased, so 24 individuals 
remained. The MWF is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative. It aims to 
empower young leaders of SSA through academic coursework, leadership training, and 
networking (Cissé, 2023) and strives to include genders equally and Fellows with physical 
disabilities among its 700 annual participants (U.S. Department of State, n.d.). The supervising 
agency, International Research Exchange (IREX), as contracted with the U.S. Department of 
State, assigns 25 Fellows for six-weeks of training to each MWFI. 
 
Our MWFI featured a Leadership-in-Business theme emphasizing entrepreneurship. An 
executive-style training program was implemented through interactive, engaging, and practical 
learning experiences to promote critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving skills while 
exploring coherent themes designed to bolster the Fellows’ capacities primarily as agricultural 
and food entrepreneurs. Institute topics and learning exercises included business pitch 
presentations; climate change and sustainable agricultural and natural resources stewardship; 
corporate social responsibility; credit and financing models and approaches; customer service; 
emerging and innovative technologies; employee training, appraisal, and relations; gender 
equity; social entrepreneurship; volunteerism/community service; and youth development, 
employability, and engagement; among many others. In addition, learning opportunities to 
inform the Fellows’ understanding and practice of strengths-based, transformational leadership 
that emphasized ethical behaviors were stressed throughout the MWFI’s programming.   
 
Faculty members, guest presenters, and special topic facilitators were drawn from across the 
university, the local community, and the state to support achieving our Institute’s objectives. In 
particular, faculty from the Colleges of Agriculture (CoA) and Business collaborated to plan and 
deliver the MWFI, i.e., a multidisciplinary team. Enlisting assets from the CoA, such as experts in 
agribusiness, including from the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center (FAPC), 
who regularly consult with agribusiness and food entrepreneurs in Oklahoma, enabled the 
Fellows to gain insights into solutions involving food product preserving and storing, packaging, 

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labeling, and marketing. Oklahoma Seed Stock Foundation, as affiliated with the Oklahoma 
State University’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, focuses on improving grain seed 
quality and producing certified seed for U.S. grain farmers, hosted several Fellows for training. 
Seed quality assurance is a significant problem facing farmers in SSA and consistently threatens 
efforts to achieve food security in their nations.  
 
Other resources – on our campus and in the community – employed to achieve our MWFI’s 
goals included Oklahoma State University’s Center for International Trade and Development 
(CITD), Meridian Technology Center’s Business Development outreach unit, and the 
Stillwater/Payne County Chamber of Commerce, among other actors supporting business and 
entrepreneurship development in Oklahoma. CITD is a member of Oklahoma’s Small Business 
Development Center (SBDC) network and assists the state’s entrepreneurs with small- and 
medium-size enterprises to take advantage of domestic and international trade opportunities. 
The SBDC model has implications for regions such as SSA by supporting U.S.-Africa trade. Site 
visits and enterprise-shadowing opportunities also enhanced our programming as well as the 
Fellows’ involvement with a Habitat for Humanity house building project and a local food 
pantry’s work, both U.S. models of volunteerism and community service. In addition, the MWFI 
incorporated numerous cultural experiences highlighting Oklahoma’s history and traditions, 
e.g., visiting a Native American heritage center, partaking in traditional 4th of July festivities, 
and touring a public school’s agricultural education facilities to interact with teachers and 
students.    
 
As part of our multi-method study, 21 Fellows (87.50%) completed a follow-up assessment via 
an online Qualtrics questionnaire regarding the MWFI experience that included levels of 
satisfaction with its training as well as opportunities to highlight business-related benefits and 
achievements they attributed to their participation. Using a 4-point, Likert-type scale (1 = Not 
satisfied to 4 = Very satisfied; ꭤ = 0.69; Jayaratne, 2015), the Fellows responded to four items 
describing their levels of satisfaction for (a) professional interactions with U.S. participants, (b) 
relevance of the experience to their business needs, (c) usefulness of the learning experiences, 
and (d) the overall MWFI experience. These findings are represented with frequencies, 
percentages, and by an overall composite mean score. The Fellows were also asked to identify 
the most significant benefits gained by participating in the MWFI. In addition, the Fellows were 
asked to describe any achievements of their business enterprises attributed to participating in 
the MWFI. Nine (37.5%) also submitted photos of their businesses considered outgrowths 
either entirely or in part due to their participation in the MWFI and were accompanied by the 
Fellows’ narrations.  
 
Photovoice is a qualitative research method that allows individuals to share their lives, 
challenges, and achievements through photos. Participants, often from disadvantaged 
circumstances, use cameras to document their activities, emotions, and thoughts about various 
phenomena, share those images, and explain their reasons for photographing such. Photovoice, 
therefore, can give a voice to the marginalized by allowing them to express needs and 
attributes of their communities (Evans-Agnew & Rosemberg, 2016). Photovoice was our study’s 
other data collection method that enabled the Fellows to express visual evidence of their 

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businesses’ growth over time. These could have been new products; new packaging or 
branding; new programs, collaborations, or approaches; or use of new tools or machines they 
initiated after attending the MWFI.  
 
Responses to open-ended questions regarding the Fellows’ MWFI-related benefits and 
achievements as well as photovoice narrations of business enterprises are presented almost 
verbatim. Results distilled through content analysis (Gay et al., 2012; Leedy & Ormrod, 2005) 
were summarized as conclusions. Tracy’s (2010) criteria of rich rigor, credibility, sincerity, 
resonance, and significant contribution guided our analytical and interpretive processes. 
  
Reflexivity  
 
In studies involving qualitative methods, researchers’ backgrounds and potential biases should 
be revealed. I, the lead researcher, am a native of Mali. I assume that young Africans are as 
capable as their Western counterparts if given similar opportunities. I earned bachelor’s and 
master’s degrees in the Soviet Union before returning to Mali in 1992. Living in the United 
States since 1996, I realize that the Soviet Union and the United States, despite variant 
economic systems, stressed agriculture’s role in their development and prosperity and the need 
to develop the respective nations’ human capital. This captured my interest. I assisted with the 
2018 and 2019 Oklahoma State University’s MWFIs as a project team member. Life experiences 
and interests, including that involvement, influenced me to research this topic. I sought to 
mitigate biases by bracketing such (Tufford & Newman, 2010). Other authors include faculty 
members at Oklahoma State University, three in agriculture and one in business, and one U.S. 
graduate student. Two led their institution’s three MWFIs and traveled to SSA for development 
projects, and another provided the Fellows with leadership training. The student, studying 
international agriculture, assisted with manuscript preparation.      
 

Findings 
 
None of the 21 responding Fellows indicated dissatisfaction with their participation in the 
MWFI after five years had elapsed. Eighteen (85.71%) indicated that they were either satisfied 
or very satisfied regarding their professional interactions with U.S. participants (see Figure 1). 
However, fewer, 13 of 21 (61.90%), were as satisfied with the experience’s relevance to their 
business needs. Eighteen (85.71%) also indicated that they were either satisfied or very 
satisfied with the usefulness of the training experience. And 19 (90.48%) rated the overall 
MWFI experience as either satisfying or very satisfying (see Figure 1). The overall composite 
mean score for the satisfaction construct was 3.20/4.00 which was slightly lower when 
measured at the conclusion of their MWFI (3.31/4.00; Cissé, 2023) five years earlier.   
 
  

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Figure 1 
 
Satisfaction of the Fellows Five Years Later 

 
Note. Numerals above the vertical bars were the number of participants who indicated that level of satisfaction 
with the corresponding color-coded response items.     
 
 
Five years later, the Fellows were asked the most significant benefits they gained from 
participation in the 2018 MWFI. See Table 1 for their responses. 
 
  
  

3

10
88

9

4
3

7

11

2

9
10

2 - Somewhat satisfied 3 - Satisfied 4 - Very satisfied

Satisfaction Five Years After the Institute

The professional interactions with U.S. participants

The relevance of experience to your business needs

The usefulness of learning experience in the U.S.

The overall experience you received during this program

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Table 1 
 
Most Significant Benefits Fellows Reported Gaining from the 2018 MWFI 

Fellows Responses 
 

1 “I gained confidence in anything I aimed to do.” 
2 “After the Fellowship, I reviewed my business model, and my sales significantly changed.” 
3 “Networking, new skills, self-confidence” 
4 “My network grew, and I was introduced to new concepts.” 

  5 a “The most significant benefit was to be well-trained in business entrepreneurship and 
leadership.” 

  6 a 

“The connections I have made are the most significant thing. Connecting with a U.S. 
counterpart was possible and easy because I was there physically and connecting with 
other African Fellows. It was empowering to know I have another Fellow pushing hard no 
matter what. Just that thought keeps me going.” 

  7 a “Network, because I can tap into a rich network anytime.” 
8 “Entrepreneurial acumen and networking” 

  9 a “Social media marketing is one of the most significant benefits. I also benefited from the public 
speaking class we had.” 

10 “Being able to know that I have great potential and think big.” 
  11 a “Also, the session on leadership was very great. It helped me to discover my leadership style." 

  12 a “Improved leadership and communication skills” “Before the Fellowship, I was somewhat not 
confident in myself and was poor at communication.” 

13 “The Fellowship has built my entrepreneurial capacity and allowed me to take bold action and 
co-found my own company.” 

14 “I became a better version of myself. More open-minded and focused on contributing to the 
betterment of my society.” 

  15 a “My business scaled up from 30% to 70%. My marketing skills improved.” 
16 “Better knowledge, perception, and understanding of America.” 
17 “The networks I built are the most valuable thing I gained for my career and personal growth.”  

  18 a “Meeting Dr. [Name] [a MWFI project team member].” 

  19 a  “The networks I created while in the program are the most significant. Having friends from 
across Africa and the U.S. is the most important thing.” 

20 “I learned a lot from cross-culture and networking with fellow Africans; I expanded my 
business and am currently employing directly over 500 farmers.” 

21 

“Confidence” “I gained self-confidence that makes me feel more capable of using my talents. 
In the workplace, especially in entrepreneurship, self-confidence is an important element 
of leadership. It’s an essential quality for any entrepreneur, and the program greatly 
helped me.” 

Note. a Fellows’ entrepreneurial experiences, including for-profit and social, are further 
elaborated on through their quotes in the notes corresponding with their photovoice 
responses.  
 
Five years later, the Fellows were asked to describe any achievements they attributed to  
their participation in the 2018 MWFI. See Table 2 for their responses. 
 
 

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Table 2 
 
Achievements Fellows Attributed to their Participation in the 2018 MWFI 

Fellows Responses 

1 
“I was able to give training to 500 rural producers to extend my network. Because of this work, I 

was ‘Youth of the Month.’ We created forty-five (45) agricultural cooperatives after the 
MWF.” 

2 “Social media marketing training and basic accounting training received have enhanced how we 
interact with our customers.” 

3 “Networking, self-confidence, opportunity identification”  
4 “The global outlook that we are planning. Up-scaling (massively); sourcing funding” 

  5 a “Thanks to [the] Oklahoma State University MWF, I mastered pitching and business plan. I 
increase[d] my self-confidence and skills in business and entrepreneurship.” 

  6 a “Through the Oklahoma State University MWFI, I have made connections with the FabLab Tulsa, 
and we had . . . found . . . [a] grant for a STEM project in Togo.” 

  7 a “Working with 4-H U.S. has given me the legitimacy to get more school partners in Congo upon 
completing the MWFI.” 

8 “Exports markets” 

  9 a 
“During my stay at Oklahoma State University, we were taught about Facebook marketing in one 

of our sessions. It has helped my business. Since I got back, I have used Facebook all of the 
time, this has increased sales, and my business has gained recognition.”   

10 “Networking skills” 

  11 a 
“Improved my production quality by employing the best technology learned from FAPC. 

Improved my business and leadership skills, where I managed diversity effectively within my 
team and staff.” 

  12 a “The Fellowship significantly improved my communication skills and entrepreneurial mindset.” 
13 “I was able to effectively communicate, sell, focus, learn, and strategize.” 

14 
“[The] Oklahoma State University MWFI improved my entrepreneurship skills and branding skills. 

The experience helped me network more and helped me maintain my networking 
relationships.” 

  15 a “Business resilience”  
16 “Visiting and working with a company outside of Mozambique.”  
17 “Meeting Dr. [Name, faculty member at Oklahoma State University]” 

  18 a 
“I got more information about grain amaranth through [Name] since he connected me with the 

Amaranth Institute in Mexico. I have been in close contact with grain amaranth experts . . . . I 
also got good quality seeds from Mexico through connections in Mexico.” 

  19 a “Exposure to the international level. [I] learned from networking.”  

20 

“It is difficult to attribute an achievement impact gained thanks to Oklahoma State University, 
but the MWF was a wonderful human experience where I learned much from my other 
Fellows. I came back with a desire to do entrepreneurship even more powerfully and with an 
even more convinced mindset that I could accomplish great things. Social entrepreneurship 
also means a lot to me today, thanks to that experience.” 

21 “I could structure and formalize my business because of the knowledge acquired at Oklahoma 
State University.” 

Note. a Fellows’ entrepreneurial experiences, including for-profit and social, are further 
elaborated on through their quotes in the notes corresponding with their photovoice 
responses.  
 
 

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Photovoice Data 
 
Via Qualtrics survey platform, nine Fellows, three women and six men spanning SSA from Togo 
to Tanzania, provided cellphone quality photos of their businesses representing outgrowths or 
results attributed to participation in the MWFI (see Figures 2-10). Photos signified changes in 
their business operations, opportunities, and ongoing development as entrepreneurs. The 
narrations were the Fellows’ explanations of the photos and relationships with their MWFI 
experiences. 
 
Figure 2 
 
Fellow 5, Mali 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note. “These are products of Agrowomen: sesame oil, sesame seeds, sesame snacks, and parboiled rice. 
Participating in the Fellowship helped me develop my business ideas and products. I bought a small sesame oil 
press with the stipend of the fellowship. Mr. [Name] put me in contact with a lady named [Name], who helped me 
buy my first oil press on Amazon. During the second trip to the 8th global forum of UNAOC, I brought my machine 
home.” 
 
  

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Figure 3 
 
Fellow 6, Togo 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note. “This picture shows a STEM workshop in a school. The board held by the kid is an electronic board we co-
designed with the FabLab Tulsa on a MWF18 reciprocal exchange-funded project. I visited them during the MWF 
2018 Fellowship, and we applied for a grant for the project. The project is about going to schools in Togo for 
hands-on soldering sessions so kids learn how to solder a LED light, a battery holder, and the power switch to the 
board. But this is not just about soldering; it is also about learning more about our country, Togo, its regions, and 
what can be valued or featured from every region and culture. The idea is to make them curious about science and 
technology and willing to learn from others. That also helps create cohesion in a country with such diverse cultures 
and makes them keener on accepting and working together. Business-wise, these kinds of boards cannot be 
produced here even if we design them, we will have to order them from abroad. But these kinds of activities are 
what we want to be doing more in school and show more of what STEM education is. But we need the funding and 
the required support. So, through the MWF 2018 reciprocal grant and networking with Fablab Tulsa, we can apply 
for grants and do fundraising for similar projects.” 
 
Figure 4 
 
Fellow 7, Republic of Congo 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note. “That is the picture of the Luzabu Group Head office in [City], which we launched almost one year after 
completing the MWF 2018 at Oklahoma State University. It has increased our training capacity and branding, 
allowing our start-up to grow financially and in credibility. It relates to the training I received at Oklahoma State 
University in that the decision to launch it came from a poster pitch we designed with my team using the poster 
pitch techniques taught to us at Oklahoma State University. We pitched to investors using LUZABU GROUP Poster 
Pitch and convinced some of them to invest. Thus, Oklahoma State University has been a great catalyst for our 
current success.” 
 

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Figure 5 
 
Fellow 9, Liberia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note. “In the photo, I feel accomplished after a hard day[’s] work, making sure all the products are well packaged 
and can compete locally and internationally. Skills learned from Oklahoma State University have everything to do 
with my business growth. As you see in the picture, the products are well displayed on the shelf due to some visits 
to some business centers during my stay at Oklahoma State University. The photo also indicates the working of a 
true African lady who has been inspired by lessons learned from MWF, always getting up early to get things done 
and striving to improve daily. Finally, the photo inspires girls and women to create their narratives. It means that 
girls and women are strong enough to make their own decisions, be free, and break the status quo that people set 
up for them.” 
 
Figure 6 
 
Fellow 11, Nigeria 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note. “The scene is capacity building and development of over 300 smallholder potato farmers on reducing potato 
waste, processing, storage, food safety, and packaging/marketing. About 80% of women and youths attended the 
training funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and sponsored by the Potato Value Chain office in [Name] 
State, Nigeria. The training empowered the women to process potatoes locally into starch, creating a hygienic 
potato fries space using instant cook stands. The training was a capacity development initiative learned from the 
Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Product[s] Center (FAPC) in Stillwater, Oklahoma, during the Mandela 
Washington Fellowship and the post-Fellowship networking activity with the staff of Oklahoma State University.” 
 
 

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Figure 7 
 
Fellow 12, Ethiopia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note. “I have rebranded it [, i.e., my enterprise,] again to make it easier to remember and catchier. The name 
implies a local name that means medicine, the leaves indicate agriculture, and the yellow and green color of the 
fruits and vegetables suggests something to do with nature. The whole story and idea are derived after the 
Fellowship, including using powerful colors, which Oklahoma State University also uses orange as its identification. 
Please find the attached new brand name.”  
 
Figure 8 
 
Fellow 15, Tanzania 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note. “The picture represents the improvement of our services, from good to Great! Partnering with other vendors 
to increase our revenue and access to more wedding events, we are serving ice cream and sweet snacks at this 
event!” 
 
  

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Figure 9 
 
Fellow 18, Kenya 

 
Note. “The picture was taken on our farm in [Town], Kenya. The photo shows my mother, my friend’s kids from 
Mexico, and me. We have intercropped maize and grain amaranth on the farm for our consumption and as cash 
crops. My friend, [Name] from Mexico, had visited the farm to see how we grow our amaranth and offer advice as 
an expert in the field. [Name] and a team from Mexico, including [a MWFI co-coordinator, Name’s] mother, had 
invited me to the 1st World Amaranth Congress in Mexico shortly after the Oklahoma State University fellowship. 
In Mexico, I learned more about amaranth growing and value addition which I applied to our farm in Kenya. The 
fellowship helped me learn new techniques of marketing and managing the business. After the fellowship, I began 
the value addition of the grain amaranth, which grew the business revenues by over 50%.” 
 
Figure 10 
 
Fellow 19, Uganda 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note. “ . . . I had just reached my place of work. The boys were cleaning the garlic, sun drying it, and packaging it 
for shipment to Congo, Sudan, Kenya, etc., . . . I learned customer care, sustainability, and accountability of 
business [at the MWFI].” 
 
 
The nine participants who provided narrated images described a variety of entrepreneurial 
endeavors ranging from production agriculture to food processing and purveying to youth 
development through STEM. Eight of the nine made direct linkages between the growth and 
success of their ventures to learning experiences that occurred during the 2018 MWFI at 
Oklahoma State University and some even thereafter stemming from relationships sparked 

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during the fellowship. For these entrepreneurs, the MWFI’s impact had resonated during the 
five years that elapsed, and their narrations said as much.     
 

Conclusions, Discussion, and Recommendations 
 
We assessed long-term impacts of a 2018 MWFI on its participants from SSA. Other than the 
MWFI’s providers, findings may be relevant to additional stakeholders, such as the U.S. 
Department of State and SSA governments, as they determine whether U.S. investments in 
international development yield meaningful outcomes regarding entrepreneurs and their 
ventures. The Fellows’ overall level of satisfaction with their MWFI experiences remained 
mostly stable five years later, implying that their entrepreneurship training needs and interests 
were largely met. Regarding benefits associated with the MWFI, Fellows identified business 
networking opportunities and connections, growth in confidence as entrepreneurs, skills 
acquisition involving new approaches to marketing and leadership, and aspects of self-
improvement.    
  
As for highlighting achievements they credited to MWFI participation, Fellows further stressed 
better networking, including the use of social media; increased marketing channels; and 
improved confidence. Several Fellows also described exporting their products to international 
buyers, improving approaches to business planning and practices, and developing a more 
entrepreneurial mindset while seeking to scale-up their enterprises and find new opportunities 
for expansion. Although the training was a North-South initiative, of note, a Kenyan Fellow who 
farmed and processed amaranth engaged in a South-South collaboration involving producers 
and food scientists in Mexico arising from their MWFI experience. The Fellows’ benefits and 
achievements were further confirmed and expanded on by the photos and related narratives 
they shared. Development of the Fellows’ capacities as entrepreneurs were described in 
contextual ways but several also depicted developing the capacity of others, including youth 
and women, through the scope and reach of their enterprises. Our results, therefore, 
supported assertions of HCT (Becker, 1962, 1964, 1994; Schultz, 1961, 1971) and capacitating 
individuals for improved economic empowerment. 
 
We recommend an improved placement process among the funder, the Fellows, and the 
hosting institutions. Agriculture and agribusinesses, as contexts for Fellows’ learning 
experiences such as enterprise shadowing, site visits, and access to experts, are not the same 
throughout the United States, e.g., rice or sugar cane producing areas versus corn and egg 
production regions. Knowing more about the Fellows’ entrepreneurial interests and matching 
them with such could lead to greater satisfaction among future MWF participants.  
 
Longitudinal studies are often a rarity regarding the impact of training programs intended to 
build the capacities of international participants (Rother, 2007; Smith et al., 2023), as described 
here; this is usually due to a lack of donor funding to support such. Therefore, funders are 
urged to earmark a portion of the resources provided for these programs to support long-term 
evaluations, including on-site observations; interviews of local stakeholders, e.g., employees 

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https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v6i3.601   55 
 

and customers; and analyses of return-on-investment impacts. Failure rates among 
entrepreneurs worldwide vary but are relatively high (Sarasvathy et al., 2011). So, was lack of 
success why more than half the Fellows did not provide photos representative of their business 
achievements after returning home, or were other reasons at play? This lack of participation 
warrants additional inquiry.  
 
We also acknowledge several limitations of our study: small sample size, reliance on self-
reporting, potential for recall problems (Rogers, 2003) by the participants, as well as the 
absence of on-site observations and data collection. Further, our results were not immune to 
the Dunning-Kruger effect, i.e., the Fellows may have overestimated their abilities (van Hugten 
et al., 2023) when reporting benefits and achievements they attributed to participating in a 
MWFI. 
 

Acknowledgments 
 
Funding Information: This research study was funded in part by the Oklahoma Agricultural 
Experiment Station Hatch Project No. OKL03187, through the U.S. National Institute of Food 
and Agriculture. 
 
Conflict of interest: No conflicts of interest exist regarding the study, or this related manuscript. 
 
Previous Dissemination: Portions of this manuscript were derived from the lead author’s 
doctoral dissertation study, as referenced: https://openresearch.okstate.edu/entities/ 
publication/a4eeb195-f103-4ab5-8f9d-4034301129e7. Related oral presentations occurred at 
the 2025 conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education in 
Inverness, Scotland, and at the 2024 conference of the Comparative and International 
Education Society in Miami Beach, FL, USA, as part of a panel discussion. 
 
Artificial Intelligence: No AI tools were used in the preparation of this manuscript. 
 
Author Contribution Statement: M. S. Cissé – investigation, formal analysis, writing original 
draft; M. C. Edwards – editing and writing of original and subsequent drafts; L. L. Cline – review 
and editing of original draft; J. S. Robinson – review and editing of original draft; C. E. Watters – 
review and editing of original draft; L. M. Martins – review and editing of subsequent drafts.   
 

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