Westerwelle Young Founders Program Autumn for Young Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries 2022

The Young Founders Programme is a 6-month fellowship for outstanding young entrepreneurs from emerging markets. It brings together leaders from all over the world, who are united in the pursuit to achieve entrepreneurial greatness.

The Westerwelle Foundation for International Understanding is a non-profit organization based in Berlin, Germany. Our mission is to create equal opportunities for all by uplifting emerging markets through empowered entrepreneurship.

• Table of Content
• About Westerwelle Foundation
• Westerwelle Young Founders Program Autumn
• Aim and Benefits of Westerwelle Young Founders Program Autumn
• Requirements for Westerwelle Young Founders Program Autumn Qualification
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Westerwelle Foundation

The Westerwelle Foundation for International Understanding is a nonprofit organization based in Berlin, Germany. Our mission is to create equal opportunities for all by uplifting emerging markets through empowered entrepreneurship.

Westerwelle Young Founders Program Autumn

Aim and Benefits of Westerwelle Young Founders Program Autumn

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.

Travel and accommodation for the Young Founders Conference will be covered by the Westerwelle Foundation. All fellows are expected to actively participate in the Young Founders Conference as well as in the scheduled mentoring calls.

Requirements for Westerwelle Young Founders Program Autumn Qualification

We are looking for entrepreneurs with high potential for impact and growth to become leaders of a sustainable future, with the following criteria:

• 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 Deadline

How 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 and/or CV

With these on hand, the application will take approximately 20 minutes. Only complete applications will be reviewed.

Application deadline: Tuesday, August 9 at 11:59 CEST

Interviews with shortlisted candidates: August 22-27, 2022

Notification of all applicants: 30 August 2022

For further questions, please sign up for our info sessions

On the 13/07/2022: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkfu2urTovGtAJNJHZxwF8O2xeSBtgzafC

Or on the 02/08/2022:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYud-Ghpz8oHtClI7OMgn5KcxGQ6YD6ypd5

For technical issues ONLY (i.e. cannot submit form): please email [email protected]

For news about other programmes and opportunities you can follow our social media channels: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter

We look forward to learning about you!

For more details, visit Westerwelle Foundation website.