The program in South Africa and Mozambique was coordinated by Africa-America Institute in South Africa as an IFP International Partner. The program was launched in 2002 and its final recruitment drive in took place in 2010. Out of over 2000 applicants, 267 were selected to become Fellowship recipients. Typically, the Fellows were men and women who overcame obstacles such as poverty and discrimination to gain access to higher education, and who aspired to work for social justice in their communities, country and globally. 110 Fellows chose to study in South Africa; the rest received their education in other countries. Upon return to South Africa they joined the South Africa Alumni network.

The IFP office in South Africa was closed in June 2013. The RBML archive received 10 linear feet of paper records in four installments in May-July 2013 and 250 MB of digital materials in July 2013. 182 Fellows consented to provide researchers with access to their files. The paper shipment also included 2 DVDs and 8 DV tapes, whose contents were transferred and grouped with other digital materials of the IFP office.