Young founders from emerging and developing countries are invited to apply for a fully-funded six-month-long mentoring programme. Participants will receive bespoke training and have an opportunity to pitch their projects in front of investors. Ten top-performing founders will have their expenses covered to participate in a ten-day-long conference in Berlin, Germany. The deadline is on 9 December 2020.
Apply for Westerwelle Young Founders Programme
The Westerwelle Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation of civil law, based in Berlin. It was founded in December 2013 by Guido Westerwelle, Federal Foreign Minister, and Ralph Dommermuth, Chairman and CEO of United Internet AG.
The foundation aims to strengthen democracy throughout the world in transition countries through the promotion and expansion of the middle classes in these countries. To achieve this goal, the foundation is particularly active in the area of business startups and vocational training.
The 6-month-long Westerwelle Young Founders Programme will start in the spring of 2021 with a digital kick-off conference on 1-5 March. In the following six months, the young founders will have the opportunity to develop their company with the support of a personal mentor. On top of that, the Westerwelle Foundation will select the ten best performing founders and invite them to the week-long Top-10-Conference in Berlin in autumn 2021.
During this conference, the selected startups will have the opportunity to pitch in front of investors, participate in workshops and networking events, and get an insight into the German startup scene. The foundation will cover travel and accommodation for selected participants.
The deadline is on 9 December 2020.
Main Criteria
Candidates should have started a for-profit company with a scalable business model that has achieved Product-Market Fit and has ideally secured first external funding.
Your company should be based in a developing or emerging country or has a strong business focus on developing and emerging economies.
Skype interviews with shortlisted candidates will take place in January 2021.
Find out more here.
Photo: Shutterstock / Edited by: Martina Advaney
Your last chance for this opportunity:
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