Commonwealth Startup Fellowship
Supports early-stage founders from Commonwealth countries with mentoring, masterclasses, and investor-facing acceleration.
The Commonwealth Startup Fellowship, delivered by Imperial College London's Imperial Enterprise Lab in partnership with Commonwealth funders, is an annual programme for startup founders from eligible low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries. The 2025-26 cohort is currently in delivery: the two-week bootcamp took place in Accra, Ghana from November 15-29, 2025; online programming runs through May 2026; and a capstone event in London, UK is scheduled for May 2026. The next call — expected to be the 2026-27 cycle — is anticipated to open around mid-2026 based on the prior year's June 2, 2025 open date and June 30, 2025 application deadline.
Fellows receive travel, visas, accommodation, and meals fully covered for one founder attending the two-week bootcamp in Africa. The programme includes monthly one-on-one business coaching and peer networking across the five-month online phase. A £35,000 equity-free grant pool is available to fellows, with individual startups eligible to apply for up to £2,000 in grant funding. Eligible countries span 44 Commonwealth low- and middle-income nations, including Ghana, Kenya, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Applicants must hold at least a graduate-level qualification, be a citizen or refugee of an eligible Commonwealth country, and be permanently resident there at the time of application.
Ventures must be registered and operating for at least six months, with a working minimum viable product and demonstrable customer traction such as early sales, pre-sales, signed contracts, or proof of demand. Idea-stage ventures are explicitly ineligible. The founder must hold an equity stake in the company. Applicants must not have undertaken a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship in the preceding five years. The fellowship is not restricted to Imperial-affiliated founders — it is open to any eligible Commonwealth founder meeting the above criteria.
Sector-agnostic startup development for founders from eligible Commonwealth low- and middle-income countries, requiring a working MVP and demonstrable customer traction at time of application.
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