Western Union Foundation Fellowship Program 2024

The Western Union Foundation Fellowship Program is a venture and leadership accelerator program for entrepreneurs and community leaders from highly marginalized, refugee, and forcibly displaced groups around the world.

The fellowship is a fully funded virtual and global program designed to equip next-generation entrepreneurs and leaders with the information and skills they need to improve access to economic opportunity, build valuable networks and resources, and impact their communities.

Details:

Apply for the 2024 Western Union Foundation Fellowship to receive a comprehensive roadmap to guide growth and scalability.

• The Western Union Foundation is a separate charitable corporation from The Western Union Company that receives support from The Western Union Company, its employees, agents, consumers, and business partners. The Western Union Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of senior Western Union executives from across the globe.
• The Foundation’s executive director and highly-skilled team grant makers, fundraisers, and advocators is based in Denver, Colorado. For 20 years, the Western Union Foundation has invested in changing lives for the better

Requirements:

To apply for the Western Union Foundation Fellowship, you are required to meet the requirements below;

• Who You Are: You are an entrepreneur or community leader from and working with highly marginalized, refugee, and forcibly displaced communities around the globe.
• What You Do: You are leading an early-stage social impact venture or community initiative with a proven track record of impact, entrepreneurship, and leadership in their community. We define early-stage ventures as those that have a working prototype/ MVP product or service with active customers or beneficiaries and demonstrated impact and revenue. Ideally, you are exploring your product-market fit.
• Where You Create Impact: Applicants from or are working in the following countries will be given priority: Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States
• What You Are Looking For: You are looking for expert-led entrepreneurial training, access to funding opportunities, and a vast network of mentorship to accelerate your leadership skills and venture impact.
• What You Will Accomplish: With the support of the Watson Institute team, you will gain a roadmap of how to grow and scale your work and impact. In addition, you will create impact through the facilitation of an impact workshop and training (called a Basecamp)in your community and for your stakeholders. You will receive a stipend, playbook, and team support to make this happen.

Duration and Reward

• Dates: August 8th, 2024 to November 19th, 2024 (16 weeks of programming).
• Format: Weekly virtual workshops with localized gatherings and events when possible (6-8 hours per week per week time commitment)
• Immersive & Orientation: 2-week virtual Immersive starting October 2nd, 2023 (20–25 hours per week time commitment)
• Workshops & Training: Modules include Foundations, Data & Metrics, Go-To-Market, Funding, Team Management, and Pitch
• Impact Series: The world’s foremost leaders, entrepreneurs, and practitioners are invited to our programs to share their entrepreneurial journey and experience as well as mentor the Watson Institute and Fellows.
• Basecamp: 2+ day workshops designed to Fellows’ communities to ideate solutions, design business models, and compellingly communicate their businesses and organizations to an external audience.
• Summit: Culminating community event where Fellows pitch to local leaders, funders, and entrepreneurs (February 13, 2024)
• Seed Funding: $36,000 in seed funding will be distributed among select Western Union Foundation Fellows based on progress and impact throughout the Fellowship.

How To Apply:

To apply for the Western Union Foundation Fellowship, applicants should follow the timeline below;

• Click on the button below to visit the Western Union Foundation application page
• Complete the online application. This application should take approximately 45 minutes to fill out. The deadline for application submissions is June 1st, 2024.
• The Admissions Committee diligently reviews all applications, seeking entrepreneurs who demonstrate strong leadership qualities and ventures that are both innovative and scalable.
• Qualified applicants will receive invitations for a 20-minute one-on-one Zoom interview.
• Notifications of acceptance will be sent out during the week of July 1st, 2024.

Deadline: June 1, 2024

Apply here

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