Talent was never the problem.Access was.
Charity feeds a child for a day. A builder feeds herself for life. One hundred seats, fully funded, for young people the world usually overlooks.
- Cohort Size100 SeatsCohort One Launch
- Fellowship FeeUSD 0Fully Funded Always
- Launch DateSept 20266 Months / 12 Classes
Community Nominated
“Six months, twelve classes, one real micro-business build.”
The student pays nothing. Ever.
No fee, no deposit, no “materials cost”. One paid programme seat funds one Access seat. Not charity bolted on, the business model. A seat grown, not given.
Who it is for
Nominated, not recruited.
The talent was never missing. The door was. We don't run ads for this fellowship, and we don't take applications from the open internet, because the builders we're looking for are rarely on it.
Access Fellows are chosen on drive, never marks, identified by our partner NGOs, organisations already working inside their communities, who know which student stays after class to ask one more question. Each partner NGO can nominate up to 10 students per cohort.
The next great builder is currently helping in a family shop, or walking a long road to school. Our partners know their name.
The curriculum
Twelve classes. One arc: from a phone to a pay cheque.
Not a coding degree. A six-month arc, from learning a device as a tool, to building a fix for a real business, to a first income and a real placement conversation. Built around the devices students actually have, not the ones we wish they had.
Months 1–2 · Foundations
Learn the tools
- Digital confidence: working a device, accounts, and staying safe online
- Meeting AI: what it is, what it is not, and how to ask it good questions
- Everyday AI tools for writing, translating, planning and problem-solving
- Communication: presenting yourself and your ideas clearly
Months 3–4 · The real build
Build for a real business
- Paired with a real micro-business from month three, a tailor, a farmer, a shopkeeper
- Diagnose one real problem the business actually has
- Build the fix with AI: a catalogue, a WhatsApp flow, a price list, a plan
- Deliver it and improve it, with the owner, not for them
Months 5–6 · Income
Turn skill into livelihood
- Portfolio: the build becomes proof any employer or client can see
- Finding work: freelancing basics, local opportunity, digital work
- Money basics: pricing your time, getting paid, staying safe
- A placement conversation for every student, no exceptions
Class-by-class detail is shared with partner NGOs and supervisors before the cohort begins.
How it runs
Small by design. Supervised by rule.
This is not a webinar blasted at a thousand screens. It is built the way real learning happens for this age group: small, known, and safe.
5–10
Students per micro-cohort
Everyone is known by name. Nobody disappears at the back of a call.
100%
Sessions with an adult supervisor
A trusted adult from the nominating NGO or community is present in every single session. Non-negotiable.
12
Classes across six months
Paced for students who also have school, chores and family responsibilities.
1
Real micro-business per fellow
From month three, every fellow builds with a real enterprise in their own community.
How the seats are funded
1 = 1
Every paid programme seat funds one full Access seat. When a student in Dubai or Seoul enrols, a student in Yavatmal or Kisumu takes the same six-month journey, free. Not charity bolted on, the business model. One enrolment, two futures, and the answer to “what does the free seat cost?” will always be nothing.
How a student joins
Three steps. The NGO opens the door.
Nomination rights come with membership of the Challenge Network, and membership is free.
- Step 1
The NGO partners with us
Community organisations join our NGO Challenge Network. It costs nothing, and it comes with nomination rights for every cohort.
- Step 2
The NGO nominates up to 10 students
They choose the young people they believe in, the ones with hunger, not necessarily the ones with marks.
- Step 3
The cohort begins September 2026
Micro-cohorts are formed, supervisors confirmed, and 100 fellows start their six months.
Every Access Fellow enters the Billion Founders Impact Challenge free.
The build is real. The Impact Challenge gives it a global stage with Harvard student mentors through HPAIR. Access Fellows enter free; champions present at the HPAIR conference at Harvard.
Honest answers
Asked and answered.
Is it really free? What's the catch?
Really free, and there is no catch to find. The economics are public: one paid programme seat funds one Access seat. Not charity bolted on, the business model. The student never pays, and neither does the NGO.
Can a student apply directly?
No. Seats are by NGO nomination only, capped at 10 per organisation, because our partners on the ground can see what an online form never will. If you know a deserving student, connect their community organisation with us.
What does a student need to take part?
Time for 12 classes across six months, a nominating NGO, and an adult supervisor present in sessions. The programme is designed around the devices and connectivity students actually have, not the ones we wish they had.
What does a fellow have at the end?
A real build delivered to a real business, a portfolio that proves it, a first income in many cases, and a placement conversation, an actual discussion about work, income or further opportunity. Every student. No exceptions.
What results can you show?
None yet, honestly. Cohort One starts September 2026. We are new, and we will publish outcomes only after they are measured, never projected. If a number appears on this site, it happened. If it hasn't, you won't find it here.
Access Fellowship
Nominated, never bought. Know a builder?
Seats are filled by NGO nomination, no fee, no application fee, no exception. If you are a student or parent, send this with your school or community organisation named, and we will connect them.
We use what you send here to reply to you and nothing else. Under-18s should have a parent, guardian or teacher send the enquiry with them.