University of St.Gallen START Fellowship
University of St.Gallen START Fellowship is a company.
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Key people at University of St.Gallen START Fellowship.
University of St.Gallen START Fellowship is a company.
Key people at University of St.Gallen START Fellowship.
Key people at University of St.Gallen START Fellowship.
The University of St.Gallen START Fellowship is a student-run philanthropic incubator and accelerator program hosted by the University of St. Gallen (HSG) in Switzerland, operated by START Global. It targets young entrepreneurs aged 18-25 from Latin America and Africa, providing a pathway from idea to MVP via a 7-week online incubator, followed by a 3-4 month in-person accelerator in St. Gallen featuring mentorship, workshops, networking, co-working spaces, visa support, and access to equity-free funding.[1][2][3][4] Backed by Fondation Botnar and the START Foundation, the program is free for participants, has supported 155 founders creating over 400 jobs and securing CHF 8 million in follow-on investments, and focuses on sectors like climate tech, healthcare digitization, agriculture, software, and transport.[3][6]
Its mission is to empower founders from emerging markets to scale startups and drive change in their home countries by immersing them in Europe's ecosystem, with HSG students delivering hands-on support.[3][4] This bridges global entrepreneurial talent gaps, fostering a tight-knit community while offering up to 8 ECTS credits and connections to 400+ investors.[1][3]
Launched in 2020 by START Global, a non-profit student initiative founded in 1996 at the University of St. Gallen, the START Fellowship emerged to support startups from emerging markets amid global entrepreneurial disparities.[3][6] Key figures include Benedict Wolters, managing director, who led scouting across 11 countries in 2024, reviewing 350 startups via university pitching competitions to select cohorts like the 30 founders from February to May 2025.[3][6]
The program evolved from START Global's broader activities, including the annual START Summit, with support from the START Foundation (since 2016) and philanthropies like Fondation Botnar covering costs. Pivotal moments include rapid scaling—125 startups by 2025—and expansions like aiming for 50 fellows in 2024/25, building on HSG's ecosystem ties.[3][8]
The START Fellowship rides the global trend of inclusive entrepreneurship, channeling talent from low/middle-income regions into climate, health, agtech, and software—sectors critical for UN Sustainable Development Goals amid Africa's/Latin America's youth bulge and innovation potential.[3] Timing aligns with post-pandemic investor interest in emerging-market startups, as evidenced by CHF 8M raised by alumni, countering "brain drain" by enabling home-country impact.[3]
Market forces like Europe's stable funding ecosystem (e.g., Zurich hubs) and philanthropies addressing inequality favor it, while HSG's prestige amplifies credibility. It influences the ecosystem by creating job-generating ventures (400+ jobs), bridging North-South divides, and inspiring student-led models globally via START Global's Summit.[3][6][9]
With applications open for 2025-2026 cohorts (deadline Sep 14, 2025), START Fellowship is poised to scale to 50+ fellows annually, deepening sector focus on AI-driven climate/agri solutions amid rising ESG investments.[1][8] Trends like remote scouting and hybrid programs will shape it, potentially expanding to Asia while leveraging HSG's tech ecosystem for deeper funding ties.
Its influence may evolve into a talent pipeline for European VCs, fostering bidirectional innovation flows—turning today's fellows into tomorrow's ecosystem builders, much like its opening mission to unleash underrepresented changemakers.[3][4]
