2026 Big Bets Fellowship: Africa – Empowering African Leaders to Change the World (Fully-funded by The Rockefeller Foundation)

Who says you’ll be able to’t change the world?

The Big Bets Fellowship: Africa 2026, powered by The Rockefeller Foundation, is a five-month management growth program for visionary African leaders who’re designing daring, systemic options to in the present day’s hardest challenges – from local weather change and meals techniques to public well being and financial alternative.

There is no payment, donation, or buy required to apply for the Fellowship.

About the Big Bets Community, Fellowships & Convenings

At The Rockefeller Foundation, the perception is straightforward: you can also make the world higher with huge bets.

The Big Bets Community brings collectively rising leaders with daring, transformative concepts and connects them to:

If you’re enthusiastic about combating local weather change, creating financial alternative, or reworking techniques for a extra sustainable and inclusive future, this neighborhood – and this Fellowship – is designed for you.

Join the Big Bets Community to:

Be part of a world community making transformative change
Receive unique sources to develop your “big bet”
Get data on how to apply for the 2026 Big Bets Fellowship: Africa

Membership is free, and neighborhood members obtain a month-to-month e-newsletter with sources, alternatives, and spotlights on inspiring leaders.

What Is the 2026 Big Bets Fellowship: Africa?

The Big Bets Fellowship: Africa is a 5-month, hybrid management growth program that equips a particular cohort of African changemakers with:

A Big Bets Toolkit to sharpen strategic pondering
Practical management expertise to drive systemic, scalable impression
Access to a strong regional and world community

A USD $5,000 stipend (topic to relevant taxes and withholding) to help participation in the program

In 2026, the Fellowship will give attention to options with impression in nations throughout Africa, centering tasks that profit underserved communities and speed up progress for folks and planet.

The program will choose roughly 10 fellows.

Program Structure & Dates (2026)

The Fellowship is delivered over roughly 20 weeks through a mix of digital and in-person actions:

Onboarding Call: Week of May 4, 2026
Virtual Programming: Weekly 90-minute on-line periods from May to August

In-Person Convening: Week of August 23, 2026, at The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center
Amplification Moment: Fall 2026

Travel bills for the in-person convening are lined by The Rockefeller Foundation. Fellows are liable for securing their very own visa(s); most cheap visa-related bills might be supported, however failure to acquire a visa could impression participation.

Note: The Fellowship does not embrace a undertaking implementation grant. Instead, it supplies a stipend, strategic steerage, management growth, visibility, and highly effective networks to assist set your resolution on a trajectory for outsized impression.

What Fellows Receive

Selected fellows will profit from:

1. Integrative Leadership Curriculum

An utilized studying expertise centered on:

Theory of change and techniques pondering
Strategic partnerships and coalition-building
Storytelling and affect for impression

2. Impact Acceleration

Dedicated time with friends, mentors, and specialists to:

Refine and stress-test your technique
Strengthen your undertaking’s pathway to scale
Navigate ecosystem challenges and alternatives

3. Cohort & Community

Join a regional cohort of 10 innovators, thinkers, and builders plus a rising world community of leaders from earlier Big Bets and Bellagio cohorts.

4. Network Access

Exclusive entry to The Rockefeller Foundation’s broader community, which can embrace:

Post-fellowship programming
Convenings and consultations
Facilitated introductions
Speaking or showcasing alternatives at world occasions

5. Global Platform

Visibility in your work by means of curated accomplice occasions and amplification moments, positioning your resolution as a strong instance of African-led innovation.

As Nathalia Arcencio De Marchi dos Santos, Manager of Convenings and Networks at The Rockefeller Foundation, notes:

“The work of these fellows flips the script: the Global South is not just a hotspot for challenges, but a powerhouse for innovative solutions.”

Why Focus on Africa?

Africa is at a defining second. With a younger, quickly rising inhabitants and immense entrepreneurial power, the continent is a world engine for innovation and progress.

The 2026 Big Bets Fellowship: Africa goals to help leaders who’re:

Reimagining techniques and establishments
Building resilient, inclusive economies
Designing options that profit communities most affected by inequality, local weather dangers, and systemic exclusion

By investing in African management now, the Fellowship helps be sure that progress is equitable, sustainable, and domestically led.

Priority Project Areas: What Is a “Big Bet”?

A Big Bet is a daring, concerted effort to essentially clear up an issue—not simply make incremental enhancements.

Projects could take many kinds—social improvements, coverage experiments, community-based initiatives, or technology-driven options—however should clearly display potential to:

Strengthen regional and worldwide collaboration
Accelerate decentralized renewable power for underserved communities
Advance public well being and warmth resilience
Transform meals techniques and improve meals safety (together with college meals or help to smallholder farmers)
Strengthen markets and commerce techniques that profit excluded individuals
Enable impression by means of AI, knowledge entry, and coverage innovation in help of African-led options

Projects should have a charitable function, display impression potential inside 5–7 years, and present early indicators of traction and viability.

Who Should Apply? – Eligibility & Candidate Profile

To be eligible, candidates should:

Be 18 years or older
Have 5 to 15 years of related work expertise in the undertaking space
Be accustomed to English (roughly B1 stage or greater on the CEFR) – ready to comply with discussions, take part in periods, and clearly talk your work

Be ready to legally take part underneath the legal guidelines of their jurisdiction
Hold or preserve all obligatory rights and permissions associated to their undertaking and its mental property
Be a member of the Big Bets Community (membership is required to obtain the eligibility type and application hyperlink)

Applicants can not be:

Employees, officers, or administrators of The Rockefeller Foundation (or its associates)
Official Judges concerned in the choice course of

Individuals in sanctioned or embargoed nations/areas as outlined by related authorities

Ideal Candidate Characteristics

Successful candidates usually:

Have deep, ongoing regional engagement in Africa (lived expertise, skilled work, or neighborhood management)
Demonstrate rising affect of their discipline or ecosystem
Have a robust monitor document of main change, mobilizing others, and delivering outcomes
Show a collaborative, curious, and community-driven mindset
Are excited to study from and contribute to a Fellowship neighborhood

Are at a undertaking stage the place strategic help and networks can considerably speed up momentum and impression

Application Process – Step by Step

All functions are sourced from the Big Bets Community. Once you be part of the neighborhood, the course of usually follows these phases:

Join the Big Bets Community
Eligibility Form
- A brief survey protecting age, years of expertise, and undertaking charitable standing.
- Applicants who meet the standards are invited to the subsequent stage.
Pre-Application Form
Sent after confirming eligibility. You’ll be requested to describe:
- Your undertaking and its function
- Why it qualifies as a “Big Bet”
- Its impression in Africa and on underserved communities
- Stage, traction, thematic focus, and your function/group (if relevant)
Full Application Form
Shortlisted candidates (finalists) are invited to full a extra detailed application in early January 2026, protecting:
- Professional background and expertise driving impression
- Preparedness and motivation to ship in your undertaking’s objectives
- Project’s ecosystem context, challenges, and imaginative and prescient for the future
- Resource plan and alignment with the Big Bets mindset and Fellowship program
Reference Letter
Online Interview (in English)
- Finalists are invited to an interview to assess program and undertaking match, alignment with Fellowship objectives, and readiness to take part absolutely.
Final Selection
- The Rockefeller Foundation, with the help of Judges and specialists, makes last selections.
- Approximately 10 fellows might be chosen and notified through electronic mail.

All application supplies should be submitted on-line in English through the specified platform. Submissions by electronic mail are usually not accepted.

For full authorized particulars, together with privateness, IP, and legal responsibility, candidates ought to overview the official Big Bets Fellowship: Africa Terms & Conditions on the program web site.

Key Dates (2025–2026)

Application Launch: November 10, 2025
Eligibility & Pre-Application Deadline: December 1, 2025
Full Application Invitations Sent: Early January 2026
Full Application & Reference Form Deadline: Late January 2026

Interviews: January 2026
Fellows Announced: Late February 2026
Program Start: Early May 2026

Join the Big Bets Community & Learn How to Apply

If you:

Are dedicated to fixing powerful challenges in Africa
Have a daring, charitable, system-changing undertaking
Want to speed up your management and impression inside a strong neighborhood

…then the Big Bets Fellowship: Africa 2026 could also be the subsequent huge step in your journey.

👉 Join the Big Bets Community to obtain:

Monthly newsletters with unique sources
Details on how to apply
Updates on fellowships, convenings, and spotlights on inspiring leaders

👉 Learn more about the 2026 Big Bets Fellowship: Africa and explore the full Terms & Conditions on the official program website.

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