The Westerwelle Young Founders Programme is a fully funded 6-month-long programme for outstanding young entrepreneurs from emerging and developing countries. The programme aims to connect young founders from all over the world with each other and with the Berlin startup scene and support them in further developing their entrepreneurial skills and their international network.

Twice a year (Spring and Autumn), 25 entrepreneurs start the programme by attending the Young Founders Conference in Berlin. During this time, they have the unique opportunity to meet and interact with successful entrepreneurs, investors and political decision makers. Throughout the programme, the Young Founders will have the chance to develop their businesses and discuss challenges with a personal mentor as well as with fellow Young Founders in a peer mentoring group. Moreover, Young Founders will receive further support through regular expert webinars that cater to their needs.

The programme will offer:

• The Westerwelle Young Founders Conference, a week-long conference in Berlin to get to know fellow Young Founders, the German startup scene, and strengthen their entrepreneurial skills by attending workshops and meetings.
• A personal mentor who is an experienced entrepreneur and will function as a sparring partner with whom you can discuss upcoming challenges and new opportunities;
• Monthly peer mentoring calls with the other successful Young Founders of the cohort to share knowledge with and support each other;
• Expert sessions on relevant topics (e.g. OKRs, investor KPIs, marketing & sales);
• The Young Founders Network — a strong alumni network that functions as a platform for all Young Founders to connect with each other, exchange ideas and find support for existing challenges;
• Exposure to the Berlin start-up scene and the public for you and your start-up via our social media channels and our networks.
• Assistance beyond the programme as the foundation will remain a medium for the Young Founders and will help them to find suitable experts for challenges, offer possibilities to share learnings with current cohorts or celebrate successes.

One of the highlights of participating in the Westerwelle Young Founders Programme is that every participant will also join the Young Founders Network, a strong network of outstanding entrepreneurs from emerging and developing countries who had participated in the programme themselves. The Young Founders Network is a place to look for expertise, develop synergies with other Young Founders and support each other.