The partnership between Savvy and KEPSA is through the AJIRA Digital Program, a Government of Kenya initiative that seeks to position Kenya as a choice labor destination for multinational companies as well as grow and encourage local and regional companies and the public sector to create digital and digitally-enabled work.

According to Chidi Nwaogu of Savvy, “Our partnership with KEPSA through the Ajira Digital Platform seeks to train an additional 1,000 young Kenyans to build sustainable and innovative impact-driven businesses.” He continued, “Having trained and supported 506 Kenyan entrepreneurs already, through the Savvy program, our partnership with KEPSA seeks to take that number to at least 1,500 Kenyan entrepreneurs by the end of 2022. By providing these entrepreneurs with training in business development, communications, and product design, Savvy will support them to become successful entrepreneurs and changemakers in Kenya and on the African continent.”

According to Rachel Gathu of KEPSA, “KEPSA is constantly facilitating linkage between organizations like Savvy, to create lasting and meaningful partnerships to add value to each other.” She continued, “Ajira is an initiative of the Government of Kenya under the Ministry of ICT, Innovations, and Youth Affairs that is being funded by Mastercard Foundation and implemented by different partners including KEPSA. The project’s mission is to enable 5 million Kenyans to access locally available digital and digitally-enabled jobs through linkages and digital skills training.”

Backed by the Roddenberry Foundation, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, and the International Telecommunication Union, Savvy was founded to help at least 100,000 unemployed professionals around the world transition into entrepreneurship by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, tools, resources, support network, and community to build sustainable, innovative, and profitable impact-driven businesses, as a way to reduce global unemployment that has been broadened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Available in 111 languages, the Savvy program has received over 90,000 applications, and as of writing, has selected and trained over 7,500 individuals in 156 countries, who have gone on to build over 2,200 businesses across diverse sectors in different regions.

So far, the program has accepted, trained, and supported over 7,500 Fellows from 156 countries.

These Fellows were selected from over 90,000 applications and according to a post shared by the organization, “[they] have demonstrated their zeal to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems using innovative and sustainable models.”

The organization noted that it measures its impact every year and publishes an impact report on how it equips young entrepreneurs to address local problems in their communities.

Today, Savvy has become a community of over 8,500 changemakers, which includes the 1,041 members of the Savvy mentorship team, who according to Savvy, “are experienced entrepreneurs with post-revenue businesses — volunteering with Savvy because they want to put their fingers on the pulse of the younger generation of entrepreneurs.”

Available in 111 languages, the Savvy program has helped 7,511 passionate young individuals start 2,513 innovative and sustainable impact-driven businesses by providing them with the knowledge, skills, tools, resources, support, and community to do so. These businesses now employ over 4,000 more individuals, and the organization believes that it is “mitigating global unemployment, which has been broadened by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

An announcement by the organization on its LinkedIn page reads:

“In this second year of operation, we moved the Savvy e-learning platform from shared hosting to a high-powered dedicated server to improve its stability and up-time. We’ve provided data bundles to 28 Savvy Fellows from low-income communities. These data bundles helped them to participate in and complete the Savvy program. And through the Savvy Prize, we provided equity-free funding and support worth $4,450 to 4 Savvy participants with the most innovative business ideas and execution strategies.

Finally, we expanded our 22-week entrepreneurial training curriculum to include 10 Product Design modules — taking the entire learning duration on Savvy to 32 weeks. These were possible using funding from the Roddenberry Foundation, the International Telecommunications Union, and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation.

Now, we are focused on achieving more milestones. We are working to secure a partnership with a state-owned organization in Africa, to help at least 300 young individuals build sustainable businesses. We will also be facilitating weekly online classes via Zoom, to be given by renowned entrepreneurs from diverse regions, who will volunteer to teach our Fellows from their vast experience.”

The Savvy 2022 Impact Assessment Report can be found here.

Backed by the Roddenberry Foundation, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, and the International Telecommunication Union, Savvy was founded by Chidi Nwaogu to help at least 100,000 unemployed professionals around the world transition into entrepreneurship by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, tools, resources, support network, and community to build sustainable, innovative, and profitable impact-driven businesses, as a way to reduce global unemployment that has been broadened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come. So, at Savvy, we’ve designed a 10-week optional course on Product Design to help our Fellows to materialize their game-changing ideas and transform them into feasible products that they can build an effective business around.

This course blends theory and practice to teach you product validation, UI/UX practices, Design Sprint, and the process for setting and tracking actionable metrics for your business,” says Chidi Nwaogu, co-founder at Savvy.

“With our initial 22-week learning curriculum, you learned how to effectively communicate with investors, employees, and customers, how to fundraise for your business, build the right team to execute your strategies, create the much-needed buzz around your product to achieve product-market fit, and build customer loyalty. But with these additional Product Design modules, you will learn more useful concepts like Design Thinking, which is very effective when addressing multi-faceted problems faced by many businesses today.”

“This curriculum expansion is simply us delivering on our promise to you that you will find the Savvy e-learning platform very useful even after your 12-weeks Fellowship program is over. These new modules can be found when you log in, under the Post-Fellowship tab on the Savvy e-learning platform. They are completely optional and not required to receive a Certificate of Completion.”

According to the UN’s International Labour Organization, 225 million jobs were lost worldwide in 2020 alone, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Savvy is reducing this global unemployment as a result of the pandemic, by equipping these recently unemployed individuals with the necessary knowledge, skills, tools, resources, support network, and community that they need to build sustainable, innovative, and profitable impact-driven businesses and become successful self-employed individuals.

Available in 104 languages, the Savvy program has received 81,945 applications from around the world, from which 6,724 participants from 154 countries have been selected to take part in the program.

Since its inception, the Savvy Fellowship Program has been financially supported by the Roddenberry Foundation, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, the International Telecommunication Union, and Because International.

Are you passionate about solving some of the world’s most pressing problems through innovation? Have you ever wanted to build a successful impact-driven business, but didn’t know how to? Do you own an early-stage business that you want to grow and scale into new markets and verticals? Are you interested in being part of the new generation of impact-driven entrepreneurs?

Then apply now! Savvy is looking for you.

Benefits:

Becoming a Savvy Fellow is an exceptional opportunity for you to:

• Identify your ideal target customer, and build a product or service that exceeds their expectations
• Make your product or service stand out from competing or substitute solutions in the market
• Draft a solid go-to-market strategy, revenue model, and customer acquisition strategy for your business
• Optimize your business operations, delegate properly, and build a winning team to execute your business strategies
• Identify the right legal structure for your business, raise capital for your business, and forge strong strategic partnerships that will help you scale your business
• Meet and interact with renowned business experts across various industries
• Share your experiences with other Fellows, and learn from them
• Explore industries beyond your daily work and expand your expertise
• Strengthen your work through new connections, skills, and ideas
• Join a global alumni network of over 5,000 entrepreneurs, to help you seek innovative solutions to common business challenges

Eligibility:

Application is open to aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs around the world. 

• There is no geographical, ethnic, or academic restriction
• Fellows should be between the ages of 18 – 40
• Must be able to demonstrate in their application their passion to learn and create lasting change in their community (and the world). However, applicants above the age of 40, with at least 5 years of work or entrepreneurial experience are considered

Savvy is a global virtual Fellowship programme, available in 104 languages, for passionate and brilliant young individuals seeking to be part of the new generation of impact entrepreneurs. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many have lost their jobs and are now living in an uncertain world. Savvy Fellowship is equipping these individuals with the necessary knowledge and skill they need to start their own impact-driven business and succeed as entrepreneurs. 

As a Savvy Fellow, you will be provided with the knowledge, skills, tools, resources, support network, and community to build a sustainable, innovative, and profitable impact-driven business.

The Savvy Global Fellowship for Aspiring and Early-Stage Entrepreneurs, which began in 2020, has so far received over 65,464 applications from around the world, and has selected and trained 5,245 Fellows from 149 countries. 

For 12 weeks, no matter what stage your venture is, the Fellowship programme helps selected Fellows answer all the relevant questions that they need to kickstart their amazing impact venture, gain early traction, achieve product-market fit, and scale into new markets.

About the Fellowship:

Some of the things you’ll learn as a Savvy Fellow include fundraising for your business, building the right team to execute your business strategies, building buzz around your product or service, achieving product-market fit, scaling into new markets and verticals, and building customer loyalty and retention.

E-Learning: Savvy Fellowship kicks off with a rigorous 12-weeks e-learning experience. As a Savvy Fellow, you will learn everything from ideation to scaling. Some of the things you’ll learn during the program are ‘understanding your customer’, ‘building a product or service that effectively solves their key challenges’, and ‘effectively positioning your solution in the market.’

Week 1: Understanding Your Customer

Week 2: Building the Right Product or Service

Week 3: Beating Your Competitors

Week 4: Understanding Your Target Market

Week 5: Drafting the Right Revenue Model

Week 6: Your Customer Acquisition, Activation & Retention Strategy

Week 7: Your Operations

Week 8: Setting the Right Business Structure

Week 9: Your Go-To-Market Strategy

Week 10: Building the Right Team

Week 11: Your Fundraising Strategy

Week 12: Securing the Right Partners

Assessment: During the 12 weeks of learning, unlearning, and relearning, you can test your understanding by taking our weekly quizzes. The quizzes are a combination of multiple choices, Yes or No, and True or False. Assessments are the best way to identify your strengths and areas of weaknesses. Knowing your weaknesses helps you work effectively on them.

Peer Mentorship: We have introduced peer-to-peer mentorship, which we have found very effective. Our motto at Savvy is: “Be Your Fellow’s Keeper.” So, since all Savvy Fellows don’t have the same level of experience, more experienced and knowledgeable Fellows will help guide the others.

Expert Mentorship: Savvy Fellows get weekly expert mentorship from about 900 renowned experts across various industries. The Fellows are expected to effectively transform all their learnings from the expert mentorship sessions, into meaningful and measurable societal impact.

Post-Fellowship: After 12 weeks, you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion to proudly share with your professional network. That’s not all. You’ll still find the Savvy platform useful as we constantly share weekly articles on impact entrepreneurship, personal branding, capacity building, and professional opportunities. So, your Savvy Fellowship account will be useful even after you complete the intensive 12-week virtual Fellowship programme.

Savvy Prize: At the end of every year, Savvy Fellows compete for the $3,000 Savvy Prize, which seeks to recognize and support the efforts of Savvy Fellows working to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems through innovative and sustainable ways. The Savvy Prize comes in cash prizes, product development support, and marketing endeavors.

One of the missions of Savvy is to bring passionate and competent individuals together to build sustainable businesses, or to foster strategic partnerships and collaborations between these individuals. With that said, we encourage selected Fellows to use the Savvy platform to find and interact with other Savvy Fellows, which could lead them to start a business together or forge a helpful partnership.

How to apply

There is no application deadline. Savvy is a fully-funded Fellowship programme, so selected Fellows are not required to pay any fee. Interested applicants can start applying.