Deadline: 17-Jul-23
The U.S. Embassy is excited to launch its first Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) in Korea, an initiative created by the U.S. Department of State aimed at supporting and empowering women entrepreneurs globally.
The program targets women entrepreneurs to provide the skills, knowledge, and resources needed to build, manage, and scale successful businesses – a key priority highlighted by both President Biden and President Yoon during the 2023 U.S.-ROK State Visit. Participants will gain skills to maximize their contributions to the Korean economy and facilitate entry into the U.S. market.
The selected grantee will facilitate a pre-made curriculum combining online and offline components. The curriculum covers topics including entrepreneurship, business planning, marketing, financial management, and pitching. The grantee will also collaborate with U.S. Embassy Seoul to hold networking programs for participants to meet each other and prominent peers. Before the program begins, the grantee organization will receive an AWE training session to familiarize themselves with the program.
Funding Information
- Length of performance period: 8 – 12 months
- Number of awards anticipated: 1 award
- Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $30,000 to a maximum of $55,000
- Total available funding: $55,000
- Anticipated program start date: October or November, 2023 (project period, including preparation phase, starts prior to the said condition will not be considered.)
Key Outputs
- Recruitment: The target audience is 20-25 startup CEOs who have been running their businesses since inception. Detailed participant selection criteria will be designed in close collaboration with the grantee organization.
- Program and Networking: The first phase of the program will focus on Thunderbird University’s three-month-long “100 Million Learners Program,” delivered online. During this phase, the grantee organization will maintain regular check-ins with participants to ensure their active engagement. Monthly in person meetings will be held to facilitate discussion of the material and best practices for adapting these skills to their own businesses.
- Participants who successfully complete the training will be invited to attend Select USA in 2024 and become mentees in the Select USA Global Women in Tech program. The program will culminate in a graduation ceremony in Fall 2024.
- Monitoring and Evaluation: The grantee organization will conduct ongoing surveys to assess participants’ satisfaction before and after attending the AWE program. These surveys will assess the relevance of the materials to their businesses and any reflections on results of the trainings.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Public Diplomacy Section encourages applications from not-for-profit organizations.
- Registered not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/nongovernmental organizations with programming experience
- Non-profit or governmental educational institutions
- Foreign Public Entities (FPE) for example: Public International Organizations and Governmental institutions)
- For-profit or commercial entities are not eligible to apply.
For more information, visit U.S. Embassy & Consulate in the Republic of Korea.