What is the Hub Fellowship Program?

The Hub Fellowship is a dedicated incubation program to attract, select and support high-impact entrepreneurs to realize their ideas for a more sustainable world – in line with the Hub’s mission to facilitate the translation of enterprising ideas into collaborative action for sustainable impact. The program combines elements from a business plan competition with a unique one-year incubation period for early-stage initiatives with high impact potential to get off the ground.

We partner with leading organizations in the field of sustainability and social innovation to co-develop the program and act as sponsors / mentors for a specific topic of high relevance. For our first Hub Fellowship Program in 2010, we teamed up with WWF Switzerland to boost high-impact initiatives in the field of “Climate Change & Sustainability”. Out of 132 applications, UrbanFarmers were chosen as the most promising candidate (and their impressive progress so far proves that the choice hasn’t been wrong).

The second Hub Fellowship Program has been co-developed together with Stiftung Mercator Schweiz, seeking to kick-start entrepreneurial initiatives in the field of “Children & Youth Empowerment”. Thanks to the high quality of the applications, Stiftung Mercator Schweiz generously decided to sponsor not only one, but two Hub Fellowships for the initiatives „Superar Schweiz“ and „ZwischenRäumen“.

Teaming up again with WWF Switzerland we are happy to announce our third Fellowship! Fostering WWF’s overall goal to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, this Fellowship focuses on two themes: biodiversity and the use of resources. Do you have an entrepreneurial idea and want to win CHF 30.000 seed-funding, an unlimited Hub membership for a year and access to our networks? Then check out the details for our Hub Zürich WWF Fellowship on Biodiversity and Resource Efficiency and join our workshop on December 10! Application deadline is January 8, 2012.

What can I win?

Fellows and Runner-Up initiatives receive free Hub memberships to access a vibrant community of changemakers and an inspiring work atmosphere. Furthermore, selected candidates get significant seed funding as well as connections to peer entrepreneurs, investors, coaches, and other valuable contacts that facilitate the start-up of a thriving social business:

FINANCE

Significant seed capital and/or living stipend (paid out quarterly after the achievement of spec. milestones)

WORK SPACE

One year Hub Unlimited: 24/7 access to a vibrant co-working space in the heart of Zürich (value: 6000 CHF)

CONNECTIONS

Access to the Hub’s network of business partners, peer-entrepreneurs, investors, coaching, media and Hub members