The Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation Entrepreneurship Scholarship offers African students and recent graduates the opportunity to access training, resources, financial support and a network of mentors to develop their entrepreneurial skills and start building their own enterprise. The 8-month programme develops the exceptional entrepreneurial skill set and mindset of leaders to generate social and financial impact.

Requirements

• A  Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation scholarship accepts students and recent graduates from all academic disciplines and from any African post-secondary institution. Whether you're already working in a business or looking to start something new, we can help.
• The Fellowship is looking for participants who are committed to developing their entrepreneurial mindset and taking advantage of the resources provided to develop their own enterprise. The programme is delivered virtually and can be completed at any pace, however the most committed participants will commit at least 10 hours per week. To progress through the phases of the programme, participants will submit assignments online, respecting strict deadlines.
• The programme content is delivered in English. Guidance can be offered in English and French.

Benefits of the programme

Best-in-class training

• Business bootcamp taught by Queen's University professors and industry leaders who bring decades of combined experience in entrepreneurship and the C-Suite
• The Disciplined Entrepreneurship framework, a proven step-by-step structure for scalable start-ups, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Pitch training and mastery
• Live workshops on marketing, goal-setting and recruitment are held throughout the programme
• Opportunity to obtain micro-credentials in Entrepreneurship granted by Queen's University for successful completion of courses

Mentoring and Networking

• Get in touch with leading mentors and speakers on innovation and entrepreneurship in North America
• Access a global network of entrepreneurial Queen's alumni
• Join a group of thousands of like-minded students and recent graduates from all over Africa
• Scholars are matched with industry leaders and entrepreneurs in the final phase of the programme
• Receive feedback on important start-up milestones

Financial aid

• Up to 60 fellows will be selected in the final phase to receive a grant of $ 500 CAD
• Pitching opportunities for prizes of up to $ 15,000 CAD in the pitching competition at the end of the programme
• Opportunities to travel to the Dunin-Deshpande Queen's Innovation Centre to build lasting connections that will help you promote your business venture

Programme timeline

Phase 1: Explore (January-February)

More than 1,000 exceptional candidates receive access to a curated list of online entrepreneurship courses and work through the first 11 stages of the disciplined entrepreneurship framework workbook. Candidates have several months to demonstrate their commitment to the entrepreneurial process by completing the training and progressing through the respective milestones of their ideas.

Phase 2: Ignite (March-April)

More than 180 finalists with an excellent commitment to the entrepreneurship process, who excelled in the milestones set in the first phase, will be selected to take part in this phase. In this phase, they will continue to go through an additional curated list of additional online entrepreneurship courses and work on the remaining stages of the Disciplined Entrepreneurship framework workbook. At the end of this phase, the participants will present their ideas, competing for the grant, with the most advanced and promising business ideas being the finalists who receive the grant.

Phase 3: Launch and Fellowship (May-August)

Up to 60 fellows will be selected to join DDQIC's summer incubation programme. During this phase, fellows will have the opportunity to work on their ideas, access seed funding and participate in weekly 3-2-1 presentations on the work they are doing while turning their ideas into scalable startups. In addition, fellows will receive a $ 500 stipend and dedicated coaches and mentors from DDQIC's Global Network of industry experts and entrepreneurs. Fellows will have the opportunity to compete in a pitch competition for further start-up funding at the end of the programme.

Graduation (August)

The start-up entrepreneurs (Fellows) will complete their incubation programme at the end of August. After graduation, Fellows will continue to receive post-incubation services, support and competition opportunities as part of the DDQIC network.

High-performing scholars will also be invited to participate as ambassadors and mentors for future Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation scholarships.

Application deadline: 4 December 2022.

For more information: Visit the official website