Application Deadline: October 20, 2023
MENA Fellowship
Join the movement for impact across the Middle East and North Africa through the MENA Fellowship. This program features two dynamic residencies, AWS cloud credits, mentorship, and a $5,000 USD stipend. Harness the power of cross-regional collaboration as you build the future of Health, Climate, and EquityTech.
Sectors
Climate
Solutions addressing climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience including but not limited to:
- Renewable Energy Generation and StorageĀ
- Green Building Technologies
- Climate Data and Analytics
- Climate Smart Agriculture and Food Systems
- WaterTech
Health
Solutions leveraging technology to reduce barriers to quality, affordable healthcare and to improve physical and mental healthcare outcomes. Subsectors include but are not limited to:
- Telemedicine, Remote Patient Monitoring, and Digital TherapeuticsĀ
- Healthcare Operations
- Health Data Analytics and AIĀ
- MedTech
- FemTech
- Preventative Medicine
- Health Finance
- AgeTech/Longevity Tech
Equitytech
Solutions leveraging technology to increase social and financial inclusion and closing equity gaps in wealth, education, and accessibility. Subsectors include but are not limited to:
- FinTechĀ
- Future of WorkĀ Ā
- Assistive TechĀ
- EdTech
Program Structure
- Cohort of up to 10 ventures from across the MENA Region receive training in Halcyonās methodology on business fundamentals, leadership, investment readiness, and impact
- Program is delivered in hybrid modality with participants engaging in both virtual and in-person sessions:
- 1 Virtual Program Kickoff MeetingĀ
- 4 Virtual Program Meeting Days
- 1 week in-person residency in Washington, DCĀ
- 1 week in-person residency in the MENA Region (specific country to be announced)
Timeline
- October 20, 2023: Application closes
- November/December 2023: Finalists invited to Virtual Pitch with Selection Committee
- December 2023: Selected fellows will be notified
- April 2, 2024: Virtual Program Kickoff
- April 22-26, 2024: In-person residency in Washington, DC
- May 2024: Virtual Meeting #1 (specific date to be announced)
- June 2024: Virtual Meeting #2 (specific date to be announced)
- July 2024: Virtual Meeting #3 (specific date to be announced)
- August 2024: Virtual Meeting #4 (specific date to be announced)
- September 30 – October 4, 2024: In-region residency (specific location to be announced)
Benefits
Each program includes specific benefits to fellows. Fellows accepted into this program will receive the following:
- $10,000 USD in Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing credits
- Additional technical support from Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Access to a world-class network of mentors and advisors
- Bespoke training on:
- Business fundamentals
- Investment readiness
- Impact definition and measurement
- Leadership
- World-wide community of impact-driven entrepreneurs
- Workshops with legal experts
- $5,000 USD equity-free travel stipend per venture
Eligibility
Weāre looking for (for-profit) startups that are building scalable solutions that are tackling challenges related to Health, Climate, or EquityTech in the Middle East & North Africa.Ā
- Location: Must have operations in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE), or Yemen
- Stage: Must have a Minimum Viable Product that has the potential to scaleĀ
- Team:Ā
- May apply with up to one co-founder
- Applicant must be the CEO and/or hold primary decision-making power
- Must be fluent in English
- Must be at least 21 years of age by the start of the program
- Program Engagement: Must be able to participate in all activities and programming sessionsĀ
- Impact: Must be developing a product and venture which contributes towards 1 or more of the UNās 17 SDGs
In addition to eligibility, Halcyon scores each application based on 4 criteria: Impact, Scalability, Innovation, and Talent.
Selection Criteria
Impact
To what extent will the solution, if scaled, have a meaningful impact on society and/or the environment?
Scalability
Could this venture scale to reach hundreds of thousands or millions of users in a 5-10 year time horizon?
Innovation
Is the solution a novel approach to tackling the issue in their context?
Talent
Is the team uniquely qualified to tackle the challenges theyāve identified?