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The Acumen Fellowship Program

Equipping social innovators with knowledge, skills, and community to solve problems of poverty

Fellowship Graduates in Action

Learn how Acumen Fellows solve problems of poverty

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Around the Globe

Want to start an Acumen Fellowship in your country?

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Colombia

Emerging leaders use bottom-up approaches to create change—restoring the social fabric for a new post-conflict Colombia.

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Around the Globe

Colombia

Emerging leaders use bottom-up approaches to create change—restoring the social fabric for a new post-conflict Colombia.

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East Africa

Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Burundi, and South Sudan

Emerging entrepreneurs and change agents represent the best and brightest in a diverse range of cultural, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

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Food Systems

Bringing together systems leaders with an entrepreneurial mindset from across the world, who understand that it will take all of us to tackle the greatest food systems challenges of our time.

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India

Dynamic leaders from nearly every walk of life who have impacted their sector and are deeply committed to creating meaningful change in India.

Applications Open

Pakistan

Bold leaders building radical new solutions to bridge divides and create a society that works for all.

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Southeast Asia

APPLICATIONS OPEN

Extraordinary leaders harnessing the strength of Southeast Asian diversity to tackle the region’s most pressing social issues and create a more equitable future.

Applications Open

Spain

A community of leaders working to create systemic and sustainable change in Spain.

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United Kingdom

A community committed to solving problems of poverty in the United Kingdom

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West Africa

Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia

Entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and organization-builders from both public and private sectors model a new type of leadership grounded in hope and dignity.

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Today, I am strong enough to do this work no matter what. That feeling came through the Acumen Fellowship.”

Ashweeta Shetty,

Acumen India Fellow

About the Fellowship

Program Overview

The Fellowship program brings together a cohort of extraordinary individuals working on problems of poverty and equips them with the knowledge, skills, and community to strengthen their leadership and the capacity of their ventures to scale and create meaningful change.

The Fellowship is an intensive leadership program. Fellow Candidates remain in their jobs while taking part in a hybrid series of in-person seminars and virtual workshops which are paired with online group and individual assignments to create an engaged community where practical skills meet moral imagination. The Fellowship is designed to increase a Fellow’s ability to lead social change and tackle problems of poverty to create a world based on dignity and the principles moral leadership.

Who are we looking for

The Fellowship looks for “builders” who are working to solve problems of poverty. Builders include Founders, CEOs, and senior leaders (COO, MD, etc.) at for-profit, nonprofit, or hybrid social enterprises, as well as corporate or government sector intrapreneurs. While these titles offer a glimpse of the types of roles Fellows play, what matters most is what you’re building and the track record of your impact.

  • Applicants must have a minimum of 5 years of professional experience and should be able to demonstrate their commitment to solving issues of poverty.
  • Applicants should demonstrate their ability and willingness to give (contributing their knowledge, experiences, networks, and/or ideas) and receive support from our community.
  • Applicants must have a reliable internet connection, be fully available to participate throughout the entirety of the program, and be able to participate in English or Spanish depending on the region and medium of instruction.

The Fellowship Experience

Our Fellowship is a transformative, cohort-based leadership program for committed, resilient, and competent social innovators. Here’s what you can expect to gain.

Diverse Cohorts

A cohort of social innovators working across sectors, backgrounds, and geographies committed to accompanying one another on a lifelong journey to lead social change.

Dedicated to solving problems of poverty

A flagship program teaching the knowledge and tools of business grounded in community and the practices of moral leadership.

Transformative Leadership

The knowledge, support systems, and skills to practice transformative acts of leadership, work across lines of difference, and mobilize communities.

Featured Fellows

Gayatri Jolly

India

India Fellow

Radha Karnad

East Africa

East Africa 2016 Fellow

Sarah Matindi

East Africa

East Africa 2014 Fellow

Meet the Foundry 

Featured Fellows

Meet the Foundry 

Gayatri Jolly

India

India Fellow

Radha Karnad

East Africa

East Africa 2016 Fellow

Sarah Matindi

East Africa

East Africa 2014 Fellow

Haroon Yasin

Pakistan

Pakistan 2017 Fellow

Kibret Tuffa

East Africa

East Africa 2015 Fellow

Julian Facundo Rinaudo

Colombia

Colombia Fellow

Leadership in Action

Acumen Fellow Shad Begum ('17) calls for women around the world to find their political voice

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