Ashoka Venture and Fellowship Program

About the Program

Ashoka searches for, selects, and supports influential social entrepreneurs from all over the world, learning from their innovations and mobilizing a global community that adopts those innovations to construct a world in which everyone is a changemaker. The selection process is a transformative and enriching experience. Candidates articulate their innovations and their strategies for changing sector-wide systems. They scrutinize their strategies and methods and reflect on how they engage as individuals and leaders in today’s world.

What do we offer?

Ashoka Fellows join a global network that provides the following support:

• Economic support in the form of a stipend for up to three years to allow entrepreneurs to dedicate themselves full-time to their projects
• Mentorship
• Lifelong access to a global community of Ashoka social entrepreneurs, partners, and leaders from the social and private sectors
• Personalized opportunities to accelerate impact
• Increased visibility and recognition

Entrepreneurs elected as Ashoka Fellows as part of the PES LATAM program also gain access to a wider range of support initiatives offered by Ashoka and other program partners. Learn more by visiting this page!

Who are we looking for?

The PES LATAM initiative seeks emerging social entrepreneurs from across Latin America and the Caribbean working in any sector who are in the early stages of building their organization and need strategic and financial support to bring it to its full impact and business potential.

To become part of PES LATAM, you need to meet these basic eligibility criteria:

1. Your organization creates clear social impact
2. Your organization adopts a market-based or hybrid approach and is financially sustainable or has the potential to become so in the near future
3. Your organization is formally established in your country/countries of operations
4. At least 50% of your operations are based in Latin America and the Caribbean (excluding Brazil)
5. Your organization has started to generate revenue
6. At least 30% of your users/beneficiaries can be classified as poor or very poor
7. A new idea that attacks a problem from its root cause and changes paradigms in the field in question
8. Creativity, as much in the definition of goals as in the strategy for resolving problems
9. A proven entrepreneurial trajectory, as shown by determination, courage, and perseverance in past and present projects
10. Demonstrated social impact, as measured by the number of beneficiaries of the idea and the potential to generate change at the local, national, and global levels
11. A solid ethical fiber, which allows entrepreneurs to earn the trust needed to influence large numbers of people

Don’t meet the criteria?

If you do not meet these requirements, don’t worry! You can still look for more opportunities in PES LATAM that reflect the stage of your organization.

Also, we recommend that you take 5 minutes of your time to create your account and update your organization profile at ES2 LATAM which will give you access to even more opportunities!

How and when can you apply?

The application process for the Ashoka Venture and Fellowship program is open all-year round. However, applications will be reviewed only once a year.

Applications will be reviewed starting in October and selected applicants will be contacted for further rounds of screening, which can take between 6-12 months and include the following stages:

• The local Ashoka team reviews applications and advises candidates if they have been selected for a first-round interview
• The local Ashoka team undertakes due diligence research, reference calls, and site visits, and asks promising candidates to fill out a second, more detailed application about themselves and their work
• Candidates who pass this stage continue to a second opinion interview, conducted by a member of Ashoka’s international team
• Candidates are interviewed by a selection panel – composed of nominators, social entrepreneurs, and other partners familiar with Ashoka’s selection criteria – that decides by consensus on each candidacy
• Candidates who pass all of these stages are reviewed by Ashoka’s international Board of Directors to assure that they fit with the organization’s international quality standards

About Ashoka

Founded by Bill Drayton in 1980, Ashoka is the first and largest network of social entrepreneurs worldwide, with nearly 3,800 Ashoka Fellows in 90 countries putting their system-changing ideas into practice on a global scale. Over the past almost 40 years, Ashoka has provided start-up financing, professional support services, and connections to a global network across the business and social sectors, and a platform for people dedicated to changing the world.

Six years ago we joined PES LATAM  to advance systems-change social entrepreneurship in Latin America.

Questions? Email us at bdominguez@ashoka.org