Drew Hofer ’23 is heading for Accra, Ghana, to begin a yearlong fellowship at Pangea Global Ventures, a business development platform that seeks to spur investment in the region.
“I’m honored to receive this fellowship and am excited to represent Bowdoin on the African continent,” said Hofer, who begins his fellowship next month. “With a focus on West Africa, Pangea accelerates the growth of emerging agri-business by connecting accomplished entrepreneurs with global impact investors,” explained the computer science and economics major. Hofer said he’s also looking forward to immersing himself in Ghanaian culture and traveling around Africa.
His fellowship was awarded by “Princeton in Africa,” an independent, nonprofit organization affiliated with Princeton University that aims to develop a network of future leaders dedicated to African affairs both personally and professionally. “To achieve this, we match highly qualified and passionate recent college graduates with host organizations across Africa for yearlong fellowship positions,” wrote Executive Director Damilola Akinyele in a letter to Bowdoin College president Safa Zaki, notifying her of Hofer’s award.
Since 1999, Princeton in Africa has placed over six hundred fellows with more than a hundred host organizations in some thirty-six African countries, said Akinyele. “Some of our partner organizations include the International Rescue Committee (IRC), The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Gardens for Health International, Save the Children, African Leadership Academy and African School of Economics,” he added.
Hofer, a former track and field athlete and a Sarah and James Bowdoin scholar, among other things, is among around twenty-nine fellows working with nineteen organizations in ten African countries over the coming year, said Akinyele. “We are thrilled to welcome Andrew Hofer to the Princeton in Africa community,” he continued, “[and] look forward to continuing a relationship with students from Bowdoin College in the future.”
