Deadline: November 15, 2022.

The Western Union Foundation Fellowship is for young entrepreneurs and community leaders who are from and working with highly marginalized, refugee, and forcibly displaced communities around the globe.

This 16-week-long program is designed to equip these next-generation entrepreneurs and leaders with the skills and experience to increase access to economic opportunity, have the opportunity to earn seed funding, integrate into their communities, succeed in the evolving nature of work, and transform their communities.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE

The Fellowship begins with a 2-week intensive Accelerator that will focus on:

• BUILDING COMMUNITY: Community is one of the pillars of the Fellowship experience. A diverse cohort of young leaders and entrepreneurs form partnerships, collaborations, and further their growth and impact as leaders in their community.
• SKILL DEVELOPMENT: Including fundraising, team building, transformative communication, growth mindset, courage, resilience, creativity, and leadership. Fellows will be guided through the process of overcoming key challenges faced during the process of becoming transformative leaders and entrepreneurs.
• BASE CAMP TRAINING: Each Fellow is trained and receives a stipend and logistical support to lead a three-day training (called Basecamp) in their home community to empower at least 25 additional entrepreneurial leaders.

After the 2-week Accelerator, the 14-week Fellowship begins, which includes:

• Leading an in-person/local Basecamp in their respective community. A stipend will be given for logistical and administrative costs.
• Joining a monthly All Hands on Deck meeting that includes skill development workshops and opportunities to build community amongst the cohort.
• Receive $1,000 in Seed Funding to launch/grow their ventures and initiatives.
• Regularly attending Master Courses with the world’s leading entrepreneurs and practitioners. Past Master Course Teachers include recognized leaders of Nobel Peace Prize winning movements, the youngest person to run for U.S. Congress, and the inventor of Google’s self-driving car.
• Joining a pod with other Fellows from their respective regions and checking in regularly with each other via one-on-one meetings.

ELIGIBILITY

• The Western Union Foundation Fellowship is for next-generation high-promising entrepreneurs and community leaders who are from and working with highly marginalized, refugee, and forcibly displaced communities around the globe.
• They are looking for applicants from and are working in the following countries: Mexico, Kenya, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, and Afghanistan.
• Ideal applicants will join with relevant social impact and leadership experiences with proven experience of building community development projects within these communities.
• Western Union Foundation Fellows must be able to commit to be part of the 16-week program from January 17th to May 5th, 2023. There  is a 2-week intensive (20-25 hours per week) followed by a 14-weeks of weekly programming (5-8 hours per week). Fellows will be given a stipend and spend an additional 80-100 hours implementing a 3-day intensive program called Basecamp.

BENEFITS

This is a fully-funded program thanks to the support of the Western Union Foundation.

APPLICATION

1. Complete the online application: The online application contains 5 short essay questions
2. Your application will be reviewed: Applications will be reviewed within 2-weeks of submission. Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. The final application deadline is November 15th.
3. You will be invited to an interview: Applicants moving forward in the process will be invited to a 20-minute Zoom interview.
4. Enrollment process: They will send out final admission decisions and enrollment agreement within 2-weeks of the interview.

OFFICIAL LINK