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Savvy Global Fellowship Program for Entrepreneurs

Reducing Global Unemployment Through Impact-Driven Entrepreneurship

Savvy was founded to help at least 100,000 young and unemployed professionals from around the world to transition into entrepreneurship by equipping them with the relevant knowledge, skills, tools, resources, support network, and community to build sustainable and innovative impact-driven businesses, as a way to reduce global unemployment that has been broadened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

HundrED 2023
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Overview

HundrED has selected this innovation to

HundrED Global Collection 2023

Web presence

2020

Established

9.25K

Children

144

Countries
Target group
Leaders
Updated
March 2023
According to a report by the Kauffman Foundation, over half of young adults and 70% of university students want to become entrepreneurs. However, 90% of entrepreneurs who build startups will fail. While entrepreneurs are very optimistic concerning the ideas or solutions they bring into the market, most of them are not successful with the direction that they have decided to move towards.

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

Since 2020, in the midst of the lockdown, many lost their jobs and moved from being gainfully employed to being unready job seekers living with uncertainty. According to the International Labour Organization, 225 million jobs were lost worldwide in 2020 alone due to the pandemic. Long-term unemployment can have serious negative consequences for the individual, society, and its economic system.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

E-Learning: Savvy kicks off with a rigorous 12-week e-learning experience. As a Fellow, you will learn everything from ideation to scaling. Some of the things you’ll learn are ‘understanding your customer’, ‘building a product/service that effectively solves their key challenges’, and ‘effectively positioning your solution in the market.’ After completing the compulsory 12-week training, you can take optional courses in business communications (10 weeks), product design (10 weeks), and effective leadership (10 weeks).

Assessment: During the 12 weeks of learning, you can test your understanding by taking our weekly quizzes. Assessments are the best way to identify your strengths and areas of weakness. Knowing your weaknesses allows us to help you work effectively on them.

Mentorship: Fellows get weekly expert advice from over 1,000 experienced entrepreneurs across various industries and regions.

Savvy Prize: At the end of every year, Fellows can compete for the $3,000 Prize funding.

How has it been spreading?

Available in 111 languages, the Savvy program has received over 111,000 applications. With an 8% acceptance rate, we've selected and trained 9,246 Fellows—4,676 of them being female Fellows and 4,570 of them being male. These Fellows come from 161 countries, with Nigeria, Kenya, India, the United States, Ghana, Pakistan, South Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia, and the United Kingdom, being the countries with the most selected Fellows. Over 6,000 Fellows have completed the program, and these Fellows have gone ahead to brainstorm over 5,600 business ideas and kickstart over 4,900 businesses. Also, we've been able to raise $41,450 in funding from the Roddenberry Foundation, the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, and the Because International.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

Passionate about solving some of the world's most pressing problems through innovation? Ever wanted to build a successful impact-driven business, but didn't know how to? Do you own an early-stage business that you want to grow and scale into new markets and verticals? Interested in being part of the new generation of impact-driven entrepreneurs? Apply today from https://savvyfellows.com/apply/

Impact & scalability

HundrED Academy Reviews

It is advantageous that the Savvy platform is multilingual. The fact that the program is completely online and free has contributed to reaching a large number of entrepreneurial candidates in a short time.

A brilliant Idea to help bring together resources and help young people find a path forward with their entrepreneurship endeavors. No doubt this had a significant impact of bringing back hope to youths and giving the purpose.

- Academy member
Academy review results
Impact
Scalability
Exceptional
High
Moderate
Limited
Insufficient
Exceptional
High
Moderate
Limited
Insufficient
Read more about our selection process

Implementation steps

E-Learning
For 12 to 32 weeks, selected participants from all around the world, are trained in business development, communications, and product design. Using visual presentations and real-life examples, Savvy helps them answer all their questions on how to build a successful business. They learn how to gain traction, achieve product-market fit, and scale into more markets. We use interactive videos and slides to present every week's lecture.
Mentorship
We have introduced peer-to-peer mentorship, which we have found very effective. So, since all Savvy Fellows don’t have the same level of experience, more experienced and knowledgeable Fellows will help guide the others. Savvy Fellows get weekly expert mentorship from about 1,000 renowned experts across various industries. The Fellows are expected to effectively transform all their learnings from the expert mentorship sessions, into meaningful and measurable societal impact.
Post-Fellowship
After 12 weeks, you'll receive a Certificate of Completion to proudly share with your professional network. That's not all. You’ll still find the Savvy platform useful as we constantly share weekly articles on impact entrepreneurship, personal branding, capacity building, and professional opportunities. So, your Savvy Fellowship account will be useful even after you complete the intensive 12-week virtual Fellowship program.
Savvy Prize
At the end of every year, Savvy Fellows compete for the $3,000 Savvy Prize, which seeks to recognize and support the efforts of Savvy Fellows working to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems through innovative and sustainable ways. The Savvy Prize comes in cash prizes, product development support, and marketing endeavors.

Spread of the innovation

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