Watson Institute’s Rising Leaders of Mexico Fellowship

Fellows will join the Western Union Foundation Fellowship program alongside 45 other entrepreneurs to learn advanced skills in entrepreneurship and leadership, have the opportunity to earn seed funding, gain experience, and build a global network, as they lay the foundation to empower many more individuals and transform their communities.

Program Elements

• The Rising Leaders of Mexico Fellowship provides award-winning training, committed mentorship, and a powerful community of peers to equip Fellows with the tools and knowledge they need to support their venture’s continued development and impact.
  • Venture Acceleration & Leadership Training
    • Some of the practical entrepreneurial & leadership centric modules include:
      • Team Management for Impactful Organizations
      • Data & Metrics
      • Marketing & Personal Branding
      • Impact Focused Sale
  • Community & Network Building
    • A diverse cohort of entrepreneurs, small business owners, and nonprofit founders will form partnerships, collaborations, and further their growth and impact during and after the program. Community building activities include:
      • Engagement with Watson Institute alumni
      • Self-organized Fellow meet-ups
      • Basecamp training and events
  • Mentorship & Collaboration
    • Fellows are provided with multiple mentorship opportunities from business leaders, venture capitalists, and enterprise executives. Mentorship engagements include:
      • Preceptor Advisory Board
      • Impact Speaker Series
      • Mentor Bonanza.

Benefit: Fellows can earn up to $4,000 in seed funding, which is subject to review based on their attendance, participation, and performance throughout the program. In addition, all Fellows are eligible to receive a stipend to support the implementation of their Basecamp.

Eligibility Criteria

• Who You Are & What You Do: 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. They define early-stage ventures as those that have a working prototype/ MVP product or service with active customers or beneficiaries and demonstrated impact and revenue. Ideally, you are exploring your product-market fit.
• Where You Create Impact: Entrepreneur from Mexico with ventures in the Product Fit or Scaling stage.
• What You Are Looking For: 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.
• What You Will Accomplish: 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.

Dates & Details

• Dates: This is a 16-week program with weekly programming from October 2nd to February 15th, 2023.
• Format: This program is offered with virtual and in-person components that allows fellows to take advantage of the global cohort while also focusing on creating local impact within their communities
• Immersive & Orientation: The program launches with an in-person Immersive in Boulder, Colorado. The Immersive will take place starting October 2nd, 2023.
• Workshops & Training: Modules include Foundations, Data & Metrics, Go-To-Market, Funding, Team Management, and Pitch
• Basecamp: 2-day impact workshops, called Basecamps, led by Fellows to increase access and opportunities in their communities
• Summit: Culminating event where Fellows pitch to local leaders, funders, and entrepreneurs.
• Seed Funding: $10,000 in seed funding will be distributed among the Fellows based on progress and impact throughout the program.

For more information, visit Watson Institute.