Western Union Foundation Accelerator and Fellowship

Deadline: 9 July 2021
Open to: young entrepreneurs and community leaders who are from and working with highly marginalized, refugee, and forcibly displaced communities
Benefits: networking, skill development workshops, $1,000 in Seed Funding for launching ventures and initiatives, and other benefits

DESCRIPTION

The Western Union Fellowship is a year-long program, which is designed to equip next-generation entrepreneurs and leaders with the skills and experience to increase access to economic opportunity, integrate into their communities, succeed in the evolving nature of work, and transform their communities.

The Fellowship begins with a virtual two-week intensive Accelerator. Accelerator Dates: July 19th – July 30th. After the two-week Accelerator, each Fellow will join a year-long Fellowship.

The year-long Fellowship will be delivered in a virtual format. Synchronous activities will take place between 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM Mountain Time. The time commitment for the two-week Accelerator is approximately 20-25 hours per week, which includes class time and outside-of-class work. The time commitment for the remainder of the Fellowship, excluding leading a Basecamp, is approximately 10 hours per month. Fellows should also plan to spend 70-80 hours over 2-3 months to organize and lead a Basecamp in their community.

ELIGIBILITY

This program 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. Ideal applicants will join with relevant social impact and leadership experiences with proven experience of building community development projects within these communities.
We are looking for applicants from the following countries: Austria, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States.
You must be able to commit to the intensive 2-week Accelerator (July 19th – July 30th) and the year-long Fellowship program (July 2021-July 2022).

BENEFITS

A virtual two-week intensive Accelerator 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 integration as leaders in their community.
Skill Development. Including 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.
Basecamp Training. Each Fellow is trained and receives a stipend and logistical support to lead a three-day Basecamp in their home community to empower at least 30 additional entrepreneurial leaders per Fellow.

A year-long Fellowship includes the following benefits:

Lead a Basecamp in their respective community. A stipend will be given for logistical and administrative costs.
Join a monthly All Hands on Deck meeting that include skill development workshops and opportunities to build community amongst the cohort.
Receive $1,000 in Seed Funding to launch/grow their ventures and initiative.
Regularly attend Master Courses with the world’s leading entrepreneurs and practitioners, further strengthen their skills, and build a powerful global network. Past Master Course teachers include co-recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, the youngest person to run for US Congress, and the inventor of Google’s self-driving car.
Join a pod with other Fellows from their respective regions and regularly check in with each other via regular one-on-one meetings.