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.
The program is sponsored by the ExxonMobil Foundation and FedEx.
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
APPLICANT INFORMATION
Who can apply?
Women business owners in 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,
- Employ at least 3 full time staff, and
- Generate 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
Applications due August 31, 2017
Click here to apply.