On March 27th, 2025, Vital Voices celebrated the graduation of the inaugural cohort of the Vital Voices Global Fellowship. The program brought together 25 women social entrepreneurs and 27 women public leaders to engage in tailored learning and build a network of support.
Over the course of 10-months, fellows gathered online and in-person to expand their leadership and impact, fostering collaborative relationships along the way. Beginning in August, the fellows engaged with joint and sector-specific trainings, supporting them to build their knowledge and capacity in social entrepreneurship and public leadership. During the social entrepreneurship pillar of the program, referred to as VV Venture, fellows gained skills in strategic planning, access to finance, communications, sales and marketing, and impact measurement. The public leadership pillar of the program, also known as VV Engage, offered fellows insights on enacting laws, communications, digital security, wellness, fundraising and implementation strategies.
Midway through the program fellows gathered at the Vital Voices Global Headquarters for Women’s Leadership in Washington, DC for a week-long intensive convening. During the week, fellows took part in curated sessions focused on expanding their skills and knowledge and explored cross-sector collaboration. In the second half of the fellowship, fellows took part in Collective Action sessions aimed at providing them with the frameworks, knowledge and tools needed to enhance the reach, depth, and systemic impact of their initiatives. The sessions emphasized collaboration, strategic scaling and aligning solutions with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By tapping into the expertise of the Vital Voices Global Network and offering a platform for brainstorming and peer-to-peer learning, the final phase of the fellowship provided an opportunity for fellows to forge valuable connections and build partnerships that extend well beyond the fellowship, inspiring sustained collaboration and lasting impact.
As a result of the program, fellows built a supportive network, amplified their impact and accelerated their leadership skills. Upon graduating from the program, they joined the Vital Voices Global Network that has served 47,000 individuals in 188 countries. We look forward to continuing to support this group of dedicated changemakers as they drive forward solutions to the world’s greatest challenges.
More information about the Vital Voices Global Fellowship and the inaugural cohort can be found at: https://www.vitalvoices.org/program/vital-voices-global-fellowship/. The 2024-2025 VV Venture program would not be possible without the generous support from FedEx and Bumble.
The 2024-2025 VV Engage program was made possible by the generous support of Freeport-McMoRan.
About Vital Voices Global Partnership
For more than 25 years, Vital Voices Global Partnership has been investing in women leaders solving the world’s greatest challenges. We are “venture catalysts,” identifying those with a bold vision for change and partnering with them to make that vision a reality. We scale and accelerate their impact through long-term investments to expand the skills, connections, capacity, and visibility of women leaders.
Vital Voices provided early support for leaders who went on to become Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, U.S. Youth Poet Laureates, prime ministers, and breakthrough social entrepreneurs. Since its founding in 1997, Vital Voices has directly supported more than 47,000 women change makers across 188 countries and built the most powerful global network of women leaders who are daring to reimagine a more equitable world for all.