Apply Today for the Female Founders Fellowship Program!
The the Female Founders Fellowship is designed to give women the support they need to grow their businesses in Erbil and Sulaimani. Apply by Jan 19th at 11:59pm to be considered!
After speaking with women entrepreneurs from Iraq and Syria to learn more about their experiences launching a business, we have designed a program specifically for incredible women entrepreneurs.
Through this program, we intend to foster a collaborative learning environment through skills sharing and team work. The program starts on January 26th, 2019.
We are looking for a group of 8-10 women to join our fellowship program in Erbil and Sulaimani. During our 4 month program, Fellows will accomplish three main goals:
They will make major steps to grow their business by taking action to reach their personal goals,
Learn new skills related to business, leadership, management, and more,
Build their professional network and confidently communicate their professional brand.
WHAT DOES THE PROGRAM CONSIST OF?
We are expecting you to be the leaders and drivers of your business, and we will support you to do this in a variety of ways.
The program will have four main components, each intended to develop the entrepreneur in a unique way:
Four training workshops: These workshops are intended to teach entrepreneurs new skills. Topics of these workshops will contain business, leadership, and design thinking components; however, each training will be designed based on the needs of the participants.
Weekly meetings: These sessions are designed to hold the group accountable for each other’s success. You will meet on a weekly basis to define goals, discuss progress, and contribute insights to the group as a whole. You will spend at least 10% of your time helping other fellows meet their goals during this program.
Support staff: Each fellow will be matched with 1-2 supporters to help her manage her business. These supporters will be trained on specific business concepts such as marketing, sales, financial management, and more. This component will provide the fellow with real management skills and an extra hand to get the work done.
Networking events: Finally the fellow will be invited to different networking, press, and public speaking events intended to push the entrepreneur out of her comfort zone.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?
All entrepreneurs must be committed to participating in the full length of the program from January 26 through May 2019.
You:
Have strong self-motivation and professionalism
Possess a good level of English speaking and writing skills
Are able to attend training sessions and weekly meetings in either Erbil or Sulaimani
Your business:
In order to apply, entrepreneurs and their businesses must meet the following requirements:
You must be a growth stage entrepreneur. This means that you must:
Be operating your business for at least 1-3 years
Have paying customers
You have a recognized brand in the market and you are ready to increase sales and market share
Your business must provide a solution to a problem in your community
Your business can be a physical store, online, or social media business
Finally, we are looking for candidates from very diverse communities, including locals, refugees, and internally displaced people in Iraq. If you are not sure you are eligible or have any other questions, please email us at applications@fiveonelabs.org or send us a message on our Facebook page!
Programming at The Lab:Suli is generously supported by GIZ.