A list of fully-funded opportunities, designed not merely to foster growth but to catapult these impact-driven enterprises into their next transformative phase in the vast landscape of Asia and beyond !
Amidst the bustling skyline of our urban jungles, a fresh breed of dreamers and doers rises — the Impact Entrepreneurs. These trailblazers, driven by purpose and passion, seek more than profit; they yearn for change, equity, and a brighter world for all. Here’s a series of fully-funded fellowships and initiatives that not only recognize this breed but nourish their inclusive and sustainable goals of future.
RELEVANT SUSTAINABLE GOALS
1. Halcyon’s Fellowship Programs for 2024
Halcyon is committed to championing businesses and founders whose work drives the world forward. Since 2014 the Halcyon Incubator has helped fellows’ ventures raise over $500 million, create more than 6,000 jobs, and positively impact over 9.2 million lives.
Halcyon’s Fellowship Programs for 2024 are now inviting applications. Their focus? Climate, health, and Equitytech. A trifecta of today’s most pressing global challenges. Submit your application before October 20, 2023!
2. Because International’s Accelerator Programme
Because International invites impact-driven founders from around the world to apply for the 2023 Impact Product Competition for a chance to win $5,000 and a spot in the 2024 Because Accelerator cohort. Applicants must have a business with scalable products that benefit their own community.
The program has four primary components :
- Training : A 16-week, online curriculum topics common to startups and illustrated by Because International’s experience with their own social enterprise startup, The Shoe That Grows.
- Coaching : After the first four weeks, select entrepreneurs will be matched with an experienced coach who will mentor them during the program and beyond.
- Networking : Entrepreneurs network with members of their cohort, alumni of the Because Accelerator and the Because Advisor Network – a group of subject matter experts with connections worldwide.
- Funding : At the end of the cohort, select entrepreneurs will compete in a pitch event for a cash prize. As a result of this competition, they have linked entrepreneurs to over $100k in funding.
Eligibility
- Anyone with a socially innovative product is encouraged to apply for the business accelerator.
- They dont work with entrepreneurs in the restaurant, entertainment, education, software, food and service industries.
You can apply here. Semi-finalists and finalists will be notified via email and shared on LinkedIn.
Deadline : January 26,2024
3. Echoing Green Fellowship
Echoing Green Fellowship resonates with those at the forefront of social change. This 18-month intensive journey grants pioneers the toolset they need to sculpt transformative changes in society.
This Fellowship is for people whose enterprises are at an early stage and who are experts on the challenge they’ve chosen to confront. We seek leaders who reflect the community they serve and bring deep knowledge of the issues into their work as they co-design solutions with and for their communities.
The Echoing Green Fellowship seeks leaders who bring deep knowledge and passion to designing solutions with and for their communities. Fellows are lifelong members of Echoing Green’s community and work across issue areas to advance equity, including education, climate justice, human rights, health, and more.
This Fellowship is for people whose enterprises are at an early stage and who are experts on the challenge they’ve chosen to confront. We seek leaders who reflect the community they serve and bring deep knowledge of the issues into their work as they co-design solutions with and for their communities.
You can apply here. Semi-finalists and finalists will be notified via email and shared on LinkedIn.
Submit your fellowship application before November 2,2023. Applicants who are selected for the Fellowship will be notified in June/July 2024.
4. Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity (AFSE)
At the heart of London, a special cohort of change-makers is brewing. The Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity (AFSE) at the London School of Economics offers an arena where global intellects dissect and tackle the gnarly roots of inequality.
AFSE is working to build a cohort that reflects diverse perspectives and experiences, with a majority of our Fellows coming from the Global South. We look for a range of characteristics in our Fellows, in addition to their alignment to the fellowship offering and our values (fairness, commitment, curiosity, kindness, and courage).
We are especially keen to support applicants:
- Who live in the Global South (in particular Africa, Asia, Middle East, and Latin America and Caribbean), although this factor will never be considered in isolation.
- Who do not otherwise have the resources to finance their participation in activities such as these, especially people from the Global South.
- Who have not already had significant access to fellowships or scholarships.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Applicants to the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme must be able to demonstrate their ability to meet the following eligibility criteria.
RESIDENTIAL FELLOWS
- Applicants must qualify for admission to the London School of Economics’ MSc in Inequalities and Social Science. These requirements include a 2:1 degree or equivalent in any discipline. A background in social science and/or work experience in the social policy field are advantageous but not essential. Please refer to the LSE website for full details.
- Applicants must meet LSE’s standard English Language Requirement.
- Applicants must have at least 7 years of experience demonstrating courage, care, leadership and commitment in advancing equitable solutions to inequality.
Note: Applicants who have attained a PhD, who have completed an MSc within the past three years, or who are currently studying for a degree, will not normally be considered for the Residential track.
NON-RESIDENTIAL FELLOWS
- For the Non-Residential track, we aim to be inclusive and to encourage applications from non-traditional applicants. We therefore welcome applications from both those applicants who hold an undergraduate degree (2:2 and above) and to those who do not hold an undergraduate degree.
- Applicants must meet LSE’s standard English Language Requirement.
- Applicants must have at least 7 years of experience demonstrating courage, care, leadership and commitment in advancing equitable solutions to inequality.
Read more and submit your application here. Applications for the 2024-25 programme will close at 5pm UK time on 11 January 2024.
5. Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship
If you lead a mission-driven social enterprise looking to scale a proven impact model, you’ve come to the right place! Miller Center’s Silicon Valley-based, globally recognized, investment readiness accelerator helps leaders develop pathways to scale and prepare for next-level investment.
Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship understands that women’s empowerment and climate resilience are paramount. Their investment readiness accelerator is a beacon for ventures keen on catapulting their impact.
Read more and submit your application here. Apply by now through January 15 for June 2024 cohort.
6. 4HERPOWER Challenge By UNFPA
The 4HERPOWER Challenge is a call-to-arms for young innovators. With the backing of UNFPA, Organon, and MIT Solve, this initiative seeks potent solutions in sexual and reproductive health, especially for young women.
To that end, 4HERPOWER seek solutions that address at least one of the following dimensions:
- Prioritize infrastructure centered around young people to enhance young people’s access to SRHR information, commodities and services.
- Strengthen the capacity and engagement of young innovators in the development, implementation and growth of solutions addressing their SRHR needs.
- Improve the SRHR outcomes of young people and address root cause barriers to SRHR care.
- Enable young people’s meaningful participation in SRHR cross-sector collaboration, including but not limited to fields such as legal, policy and advocacy.
Read more and submit your solution here before October 27, 2023.
7. D-Prize Seeds
D-Prize casts a spotlight on ventures that can carry the torch of established poverty interventions. Not just recognition, the most promising are endowed with up to $20,000 USD to kickstart their journey. D-Prize challenges range across multiple sectors, including health, water, agriculture, livelihoods energy, public services and custom.
Read more and submit your solution here before 5 November 2023 at midnight PT (pacific time)
8. Air Asia’s Foundation
AirAsia Foundation’s grant-making is aimed at helping social enterprises scale up as a way of empowering communities and enabling them to build sustainable livelihoods. Applicants must be registered and be based in ASEAN, and have a minimum two-year business track record. NGOs looking to diversify funding sources through social enterprise are also welcomed to submit an application.
The priority is to support smaller social enterprises that face funding constraints through conventional channels to grow their businesses.
Read more and submit your solution here
9. Watson Institute’s Ford Fund Fellowship
Watson Institute’s Ford Fund Fellowship is a crucible, molding the next generation of entrepreneurs. The mission? To infuse them with skills and resources to transform their impactful ventures.
The Ford Fund Fellowship is a program designed to equip next-gen entrepreneurs with the skills, resources, and experience to grow the impactful ventures they are building. Ford Fund Fellows will learn advanced skills in entrepreneurship and leadership, have the opportunity to earn seed funding, garner experience, and build a global network, as they lay the foundation to empower many more individuals and transform their communities.
This program is offered with virtual and in-person components that allows fellows to take advantage of the global cohort while also focusing on creating local impact within their communities. Virtual programming includes Impact Series, workshops, and weekly check-ins. In-person programming includes Fellow-led Basecamps and a Fellow-led meetup.
Read more and submit your solution here
10. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Advance Women’s Health Innovation Challenge
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Challenge beckons innovators to focus on the silent cries of women’s health needs. Their goal is not just betterment, but health equity on a global scale.
The Opportunity Map has three main components. First, it establishes broad topics of women’s health R&D with unique challenges, needs, and goals. Topics fall into two categories –
- Cross-cutting topics include data and modeling, research design and methodologies, regulatory and science policy, innovation introduction, social and structural determinants, and training and careers.
- Issue-specific topics include communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases and chronic conditions, and female-specific conditions.
Each topic identifies leading opportunities based on their potential for impact, readiness to scale, innovation feasibility, focus on women’s unmet health needs, and ability to improve health equity. Finally, example specific solution strategies articulate actionable ways to realize each opportunity and create impact within the next 15 years. The full Opportunity Map can be found here.
This initiative is open to nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies, international organizations, government agencies and academic institutions. We particularly encourage applications involving projects led by women or from women-led organizations and applications from institutions based in low- and middle-income countries. Proposals should be aligned to local public health systems. Additionally, collaborations are highly encouraged.
Read more and submit your solution here before December 6, 2023
11. Be Visioneers a global fellowship funded by Mercedes-Benz
beVisioneers is a clarion call to young innovators. Funded by Mercedes-Benz, it’s a global sojourn that seeks to breathe life into planet-positive projects. This global fellowship equips innovators aged 16 to 28 with the training, expert support and resources to bring their planet-positive projects to life.
To be considered for the beVisioneers fellowship, applicants must apply with an idea for a sustainability project, or already have a sustainability project in the form of a prototype. This year, 500 young eco-innovators aged 16-28 years old will be selected. For this cohort, applications are accepted from the EU, India, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland Uganda, United Kingdom and USA
Read more and submit your solution here . For any further questions, please email the organiser at [email protected].
Lead image courtesy of Sorbetto via istock.
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