The Westerwelle Young Founders Programme (YFP) is a six-month fellowship for 25 leaders uplifting emerging and developing markets towards a sustainable future. We offer targeted support to scale our founders' ventures and develop their leadership abilities, with the following programme plan:
- Kick-Off Conference: A two-day digital kick-off conference will take place in the first week of September 2022.
- Remote Programme: From September 2022 – February 2023, the Young Founders will receive six months of support including a personal mentor, monthly peer mentoring sessions, monthly expert workshops and networking opportunities with corporates and investors.
- Berlin Conference: The ten best performing Young Founders will be invited to a five-day conference in Mai 2023. During this conference, the founders will have the opportunity to pitch in front of investors, participate in workshops, join networking events and get insights into the German start-up scene.
Eligibility Criteria
We are looking for entrepreneurs with high potential for impact and growth to become leaders of a sustainable future, with the following criteria:
- You are a citizen or resident of a developing or emerging country.
- You have recently (in the last five years) started a for-profit company focused on developing or emerging markets.
- Your company possesses a scalable business model that has ideally generated revenue or secured a first round of external funding.
- You or your business possesses disruptive qualities that can increase the quality, impact or inclusiveness of the industry.
- You possess a good working knowledge of English.
- You are available to attend the digital kick-off conference and can make time to participate in programme activities for the six months.
Application Process
Go to Westerwelle Foundation on forms.zohopublic.eu to apply
The following application will provide our Programme Team with an understanding of your startup and profile. Please have the following key elements ready:
- Your startup pitch deck
- Basic financial information (i.e. revenues, funding)
- Your LinkedIn profile
With these on hand, the application will take approximately 20 minutes. Only complete applications will be reviewed.
