The Westerwelle Young Founders Programme (YFP) is a six-month fellowship for 25 leaders uplifting emerging and developing markets towards a sustainable future. Westerwelle offers targeted support to scale 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 on September 4 and 5, 2023.
Remote Programme: From September – February, the Young Founders will receive six months of support including a personal mentor, monthly peer learning 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 Berlin in May 2024. 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.
Selection Criteria
YFP is 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 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 six months.
Application Process
The following application will provide YFP 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: Sunday, August 13 at 23:59 CET
Interviews with shortlisted candidates: August 16-29, 2023
