Three student leaders turned an ambitious premise into an institution.
Ornella Bayigamba and Richard Mbouombouo founded YMAU. Francesca Nyakora led its first conference into being.
Explore AboutOur founders
Ornella Bayigamba, Co-founder
Born and raised in Rwanda, Ornella studied environmental engineering at Yale and served as Vice President of the Yale International Relations Association in 2019-20. During that tenure, she worked with Richard to establish YMAU as a way to share Yale’s international-relations resources with African peers.
Richard Mbouombouo, Co-founder
A first-generation Yale student and the son of Cameroonian immigrants, Richard studied Ethics, Politics and Economics with a focus on inclusive economic development. His work across Yale’s African diaspora community helped ground YMAU in questions of access, identity and continental leadership.
Francesca Nyakora, Inaugural President
Francesca led the team that delivered YMAU I in Kigali in 2022. She shaped its programme, built institutional and diplomatic partnerships, raised support for financial access and coordinated the systems required to welcome 125 students from around the world.
What they set in motion
YMAU has grown across editions and host cities, but the founding commitments remain recognizable: African diplomacy studied seriously, young people treated as policy actors and participation widened through deliberate attention to access.