Apply for India Acumen Fellowship Program

They equip them with the tools and community to strengthen their leadership, scale their impact, and create meaningful change in India.

Through the program curriculum and a supportive cohort, participants peel back notions of themselves as leaders and build greater self-awareness. They hone their skills to become better team leaders, authentic storytellers, and navigate values in tension. They leave the program with the ability to negotiate across differences, motivate themselves and others, challenge traditional ways of working, and reshape the people, organizations, and systems around them.

Acumen invests in social entrepreneurs across the capital continuum and accompanies them on the journey to create transformational change. At Acumen Academy, they identify and prepare these leaders with the hard skills required to build scalable solutions to poverty and the harder skills of moral leadership to re-imagine and build a better world.

Curriculum

• Polarity Management
  • Learn to operate in a world of opposing views and to cross lines of difference to mobilize others towards a shared cause or problem.
• Good Society Readings
  • Explore the meaning of a just society and the moral and historical foundation of social change through classic and contemporary texts.
• Adaptive Leadership
  • Learn to understand stakeholders, map their needs, and navigate uncertainty to catalyze change.
• Authentic Voice
  • Learn to tell stories that compel and inspire others to take action in pursuit of a bold idea. Build audience awareness to improve your pitch, talk to investors, form partnerships, and make connections.

What makes an Acumen Fellow?

• You want to get yourself and your work to the next level. You’re looking for people to support you on your journey. You have a bold vision for yourself and your work. You want to develop yourself as a credible and inspiring leader in pursuit of the lifelong practice of moral leadership and gain a nuanced understanding of how you can be of the greatest service to yourself, your work, and the world.
• You believe the opposite of poverty isn’t wealth, it’s dignity. Your organization gives people living in poverty the dignity of choice – in jobs, education, products, and services. You are using the tools of business to build scalable, market-based solutions to solve problems of poverty and you are improving lives.
• You have a sense of urgency to make a contribution to the world. You’ve grown impatient with the status quo – both within yourself and in the world. You have a burning ambition to scale your proven solution, and are searching for the tools and community to build impact.
• You are ready to join a global community of peers who are passionate about solving problems of poverty and will walk alongside you. You want to connect with others who have been where you are and join a community to give and receive and where it’s okay to define success differently, and put people and the planet at the center.

Benefits 

• Upon Successful completion of the program, participants join the Foundry, the global community of 1600+ alumni from around the world. They help Foundry members build and scale organizations through access to these selective opportunities:
  • Get specialized tools and exclusive coaching opportunities from the partners at Bain and Company
  • Join a community of award-winning social entrepreneurs
  • Get exposure to a global audience of investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders
  • Pitch for early-stage catalytic capital through Acumen Angels to go from seed to scale

Cost Covered

• While the Fellowship is fully-funded for Fellow Candidates, they don’t provide any funding or additional benefits as part of the program. Some of the regions provide need-based funding for the Selection Conference. This will be communicated to the participants if they are selected for the Selection Conference.
• Once you are selected as an Acumen Fellow Candidate, Acumen covers all program-related expenses during the Fellowship. This includes all costs associated with the immersives including lodging and food. Reimbursements are available for travel to immersives if the participants wish to claim them.

Program Structure

• Fellows remain in their jobs and participate in a 6-month hybrid program consisting of virtual sessions, in-person immersives, and self-paced learning.
• This is a high-level program overview:
  • One 3-day virtual Orientation
  • Two 5-day full-time in-person immersives (8 hours of assignments for each immersive consisting of self-paced learning and group calls)
  • Four Learning Labs (4 hours each along with assignments)

Eligibility Criteria

• The goal is to foster inclusive growth by empowering those from underserved areas and marginalized identities. Everyone is eligible to apply, and they actively encourage individuals with diverse identities to apply. The focus will prioritize:
  • Organizations working in rural areas, especially those who have lived most of their lives in such regions.
  • Women and non-binary individuals leading or working within impact focused organizations.
  • For-profit social enterprises that focus on creating a positive social impact.
• You are a social entrepreneur or senior decision-maker solving problems of poverty.
• You have 5 years of work experience (minimum) and are able to demonstrate commitment towards solving issues of poverty. On average the Fellows have 10-15 years of work experience with 10 years working on problems of poverty.
• You have a reliable internet connection and will be fully available to participate throughout the entirety of the program.
• You must be over the age of 18 to apply for the Fellowship.
• To be eligible for this opportunity, your organization must have at least two team members. They believe collaboration and shared responsibilities are key to the growth and success of social enterprises, and having a minimum of two team members ensures a stronger foundation.

Languages

• All sessions and training are conducted in English. To give and receive most from the experience, proficiency in the language is a requirement.

For more information, visit Acumen Academy.