Deadline: 15-Jul-23
Apply now for the [Africa Future of Work and Entrepreneurship] Fellowship to equip young innovators across Africa to create research-driven solutions to solving employment challenges and enabling young Africans to thrive in the entrepreneurial future of work.
As part of the fellowship, participants will explore the landscape in their countries through research to understand the realities of employability, the future of work, how jobs are being created in the entrepreneurship sector, the challenges and opportunities and what can be done to make it more effective and valuable. They will also explore projects that help more young people to get and use entrepreneurial skills and start entrepreneurial projects. The fellows will conduct research, engage with stakeholders, discover market opportunities and use human-centered design to launch simple and efficient initiatives and solutions that address the objectives stated. They will pilot their projects and come up with research reports, a live project, and a presentation of their research/projects at the 2023 Africa Future of Work and Entrepreneurship Summit in Kigali.
Fellowship Benefits
- Experiential and Practical Learning Content
- Guidance from Experts and Mentors
- Collaborative Peers and Community
- Support on Innovative Projects
- Post-Fellowship Network and support
- Partial or full sponsorship to Africa Future of Work & Entrepreneurship Summit in Kigali, Rwanda.
Components and Program Flow
- The fellowship comprises the online experience and the opportunity for an offline summit in Kigali Rwanda in November 2023.
- Learning Modules include:
- The Entrepreneurial Future of Work
- Research Techniques and Methodologies
- Partnerships and Stakeholder Management
- Market Research and Opportunity Identification
- Human Centered Design
- Project Development and Management
- Communication, Presentation and Pitching
- Business Models and Business Strategy
- Marketing and Sales
- Financial and Legal Considerations
- Weekly flow will include Self learning sessions, Peer presentations, pitching and feedback, Mentor sessions, progress deliverables and occasional social sessions
Fellowship Outcomes
- Practical data and contextual realities on the employment, entrepreneurial and future of work realities in Africa.
- Innovative and practical solutions that address identified challenges or amplify the effectiveness of existing solutions in the space.
- Young, skilled African innovators with a research-driven, innovative and human-centered mindset solving the employment and future of work challenges and harnessing the African opportunity
What is expected from you as a fellow?
- Conduct Research: Selected fellows will conduct primary and secondary research in their countries to better understand the entrepreneurial future of work challenges and opportunities
- Pilot or strengthen Innovative solutions: Following the outcomes of research conducted, fellows will choose to deliver an innovative solution that either amplifies an effort of an existing solution that is tackling an identified problem or will come up with an entirely new solution.
- Serve as a Country Partner: Selected fellows will serve as in-country partners for the Africa Future of Work and Entrepreneurship Summit/Fellowship, highlighting its goals and values, spreading information about the program, finding/collaborating with partners and mobilizing toward the 2023 summit in Kigali
Application Process
- Citizen and resident of an African country
- Passionate about the future of work, employability and Entrepreneurship
- Able to commit 15-20 hours weekly and engage in all program activities
- Be a young, passionate and self-driven African, 18-34 years old.
For more information, visit Innova.