Deadline: September 22, 2017
The VV GROW Fellowship is a highly competitive one-year accelerator program for women owners of small and medium businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. The program includes customized business skills training, technical assistance, leadership development, and access to networks to grow their businesses and increase their leadership impact.
Through global and regional online and in-person interventions, fellows focus on strategy and long-term business value paired with action-oriented plans. They amplify their role as leaders in their businesses and their communities to create jobs, stimulate long-term economic growth and produce wider social benefits.
Program Structure
The one-year program includes:
- Global Virtual Learning: Over 4 months, fellows complete a series of weekly webinars, assignments, online courses, assessments, and one-on-one calls with peers, Vital Voices staff, and trainers. Fellows begin to build their knowledge about marketing, networking, business planning, financial management and leadership, the core topics of the program. Fellows assess the current state of their business and leadership in order to determine where they are; analyze their business to identify opportunities for growth; and define specific business growth goals to identify where they want to go.
- Regional In-Person Training: Each year, fellows from each region gather in one country in their region to participate in a four-day, in-person training workshop that will guide them in creating an action plan outlining how they will accomplish their business growth goals. Fellows also get the opportunity to meet, network with, and learn from other fellows from their region, Vital Voices staff and trainers.
- Growth Services and Support: Following the in-person training, fellows carry out their action plans, revise them, and evaluate their progress towards their growth goals. Throughout the last 6 months of the fellowship, Vital Voices staff connects fellows to individualized growth services and support based on the goals and action items in their action plan.
Benefits
- Strengthened knowledge, skills, and confidence in 5 core areas: business planning, leadership, financial management, networking, and marketing;
- Have access to highly qualified staff and business consultants;
- Access to 12 online business management and leadership courses through Harvard Business School Publishing’s online platform, Harvard ManageMentor (HMM) for one year;
- Interactive webinars led by expert trainers from across the globe;
- A 4-day in-person, regional training workshop;
- Joining a network of women business leaders from across the globe ;
- Referral(s) to business support services tailored to your needs;
- A certificate of program completion;
- Entry into the Vital Voices Global Leadership Network upon graduation.
Eligibility
Open to women business owners from Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa, who:
- Own a business that
- Has been in operation for at least 3 years
- Employs at least 3 full time staff
- Generates at least USD $40,000 in annual sales
- Reside in the same country as your business for at least 7 months out of the year
- Are proficient in spoken and written English.
Application
Applicants selected for an interview will be contacted for a 1-hour Skype interview. All applicants, whether or not selected for an interview, will be notified about final decision by December 15, 2017.
For more information, visit VV GROW Fellowship.
