Western Union Foundation Fellowship Program 2023

The Western Union Foundation Scholarship is a venture and leadership accelerator program for entrepreneurs and community leaders from extremely marginalized, refugee, and forcibly displaced populations worldwide.

This virtual and global program is intended to provide these next-generation entrepreneurs and leaders with the knowledge and expertise they need to enhance access to economic opportunity, establish valuable networks and resources, and transform their communities.This is a fully-funded program thanks to the support of the Western Union Foundation.

About Western Union Foundation

The Western Union Foundation is a separate charitable corporation from The Western Union Company that receives support from The Western Union Company, its employees, agents, consumers, and business partners.The Western Union Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of senior Western Union executives from across the globe. The Foundation’s executive director and highly-skilled team grant makers, fundraisers, and advocators is based in Denver, Colorado. For 20 years, the Western Union Foundation has invested in changing lives for the better. We continue to deliver agains... read more

WUF Fellowship Program

Aim and Benefits of WUF Fellowship Program

• Seed Funding: $45,000 in seed funding will be distributed among select Western Union Foundation Fellows based on progress and impact throughout the Fellowship
• With the support of the Watson Institute team, you will gain a roadmap of how to grow and scale your work and impact. In addition, you will create impact through the facilitation of an impact workshop and training (called a Basecamp)in your community and for your stakeholders. You will receive a stipend, playbook, and team support to make this happen.

Requirements for WUF Fellowship Program Qualification

• You are an entrepreneur or community leader from and working with highly marginalized, refugee, and forcibly displaced communities around the globe.
• You are leading an early-stage social impact venture or community initiative with a proven track record of impact, entrepreneurship, and leadership in their community.
•  Applicants from or are working in the following countries will be given priority: Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Uganda, United Kingdom,United States
•  You are looking for expert-led entrepreneurial training, access to funding opportunities, and a vast network of mentorship to accelerate your leadership skills and venture impact.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

• Complete the online application, this  contains 4 short essay questions and should take about 45 minutes to complete. The final deadline to submit your application is August 18th, 2023.
• Our admissions team will review applications on a rolling basis starting July 7th, 2023. We review applications in two batches on a rolling basis and encourage you to submit your application early.
• Qualified applicants will be invited to a 20-minute Zoom interview. Interviews will begin July 10th, 2023.
• The strongest applicant profiles will be shared with our external admissions committee for final review.
• The admissions team will begin sending out final acceptances and fellowship awards in mid August.
• The last step to finalize enrollment is to review and sign Watson’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

For more details, visit WUF website