The Commonwealth Startup Fellowship (CSF) is a six-month programme designed to ignite and elevate high potential startups from low and middle-income countries across the Commonwealth.

Applications for Cohort 2 will be open from Monday 2 June – Monday 30 June 2025. 

ELIGIBILITY:

To be eligible for these Fellowships, prospective Fellows must:

Be of at least graduate level.;

Be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by an eligible low- or middle-income Commonwealth country;

Be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country;

Be fluent in written and spoken English.

Not have undertaken a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship within the last five years (at the time of taking up the award);

Be available to undertake their fellowship from the prescribed start date;

In addition, they must demonstrate

Evidence of innovation, in terms of product, service, or market

Active development for at least six-months and demonstrable commitment from team members

A working minimum viable ‘product’, service and/or prototype

Significant evidence of customer engagement or traction in the form of early sales or pre-sales . proof of interest or demand, signed contracts or other relevant evidence.

BENEFIT:

In addition to the training and mentorship, participating teams can apply for financial support from the Fellows Fund, a pot of £35,000 in equity free grants. This funding is available to cover business related costs to help you develop and grow your startup.

Select participants will be invited to a Capstone in London, UK, where they will have the chance to pitch to investors and industry leaders.