Menya Accelerator introduced the Opportunities Program during our summer camp in July 2022. During this camp, participants took part in a series of workshops that introduced them to skills needed to apply to different opportunities that will be shared using the Menya opportunity sharing tool. The camp was a good opportunity for the participants not only to learn but to practice different skills critical to a successful academic and professional journey such as essay writing, resume writing, interviews, etc.
Menya opportunities program was designed to break some of the main barriers that young Burundians experience so they can compete for high-quality education globally as well as other professional opportunities that will allow them to enhance their skills, and pursue careers in different areas. Some of the main barriers include:
- The inability to navigate English applications: many institutions use English as the language of instruction, given that it is one of the main international languages. However, many Burundians receive their primary and secondary education in French, which hinders their ability to navigate well these applications, and let alone send competitive applications.
- In addition to English, some skills crucial in the professional world are barely reinforced during their education. Proper writing skills, good resumes with diverse extracurricular activities, public speaking, and networking are some of the skills that only Burundians from the top high schools get from their secondary education.
- The fear to compete globally is mainly due to the lack of guidance. With the increasing use of social media, Burundians have access to different platforms that publish different opportunities, but it is hard for them to start and complete applications as the application process is an unfamiliar concept to most of them.
Menya Accelerator helps to reduce these barriers by equipping the participants with the necessary skills as well as providing guidance with the help of Burundians who have gone through a similar process.
Below, the Menya Accelerator team has compiled a list of opportunities that young Burundian students and professionals could consider to further their education and professional exposure.
Public Opportunities
Programs' name | Type of program | Location | Application period | Link | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022 US Chamber of Commerce Africa Digital Innovation Competition | Competitions and Awards | Virtual | March-June | https://www.uschamber.com/international/africas-digital-innovation-competition | |
African Leadership Academy | Exchange Programs | South Africa | July to December | https://www.africanleadershipacademy.org/apply/selection-process | |
African Leadership University | Scholarships and fellowships | Rwanda/ Mauritious | September to July | https://www.alueducation.com/ | |
African Masters of Machine Intelligence Program 2022 | Scholarships and fellowships | January-April | https://aims.ac.rw/african-masters-in-machine-learning/ | ||
Afrik Kommit | Scholarships and fellowships | Germany | January-March | https://afrika-kommt.de/ | |
Allan and Nesta Ferguson Scholarships | Scholarships and fellowships | UK | February- May | https://www.soas.ac.uk/registry/scholarships/allan-and-nesta-ferguson-scholarships.html | |
American University of Beirut-Mastercard (Masters) | Scholarships and fellowships | Lebanon | February-May | https://www.aub.edu.lb/mcf/Pages/default.aspx | |
Ashesi University-Mastercard Foundation | Scholarships and fellowships | Ghana | January-August | https://www.ashesi.edu.gh/admissions/undergrad-admissions/scholarships/mcfscholars.html | |
Ashinaga Africa Initiative | Scholarships and fellowships | Senegal, Uganda | November- February | https://www.ashinaga.org/en/ | |
Bridge2Rwanda Isomo Academy | Scholarships and fellowships | Rwanda | December to April | https://www.bridge2rwanda.org/isomo-academy/isomo-application/ | |
Bright Scholarships | |||||
Carnegie Mellon University Africa - Mastercard scholarships | Scholarships and fellowships | Rwanda | October -January | https://www.africa.engineering.cmu.edu/ | |
Chevening/masters | Scholarships and fellowships | UK | August-November | https://www.chevening.org/ | |
DAAD | Scholarships and fellowships | Germany | All year round | https://www.daad.de/en/study-and-research-in-germany/scholarships/ | |
Emile Boutmy Scholarship at Sciences Po (Undergrad+ grad) | Scholarships and fellowships | France | December-Febraury | https://www.sciencespo.fr/students/en/fees-funding/financial-aid/emile-boutmy-scholarship.html | |
Emory University Scholars program | Scholarships and fellowships | USA | October -January | https://apply.emory.edu/financial-aid/types-of-aid/scholar-program.html | |
Erasmus Scholarships- different programs | Scholarships and fellowships | European countries | October-January | https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/opportunities/individuals/students/erasmus-mundus-joint-masters-scholarships | |
Generation Connect – Africa Youth Group (GC-AFR) 2022 for Young Africans | Conferences | Virtual | January -March | https://www.itu.int/generationconnect/regional-youth-groups-africa/#:~:text=on%20digital%20transformation.-,The%20Generation%20Connect%20%E2%80%93%20Africa%20Youth%20Group%20(GC%2DAFR),Conference%20(WTDC)%20in%202022. | |
Google Africa Developer Scholarship (GADS) 2022 for Africans | Scholarships and fellowships | Virtual | May onwards | https://www.pluralsight.com/partners/google/africa/gads-2022 | |
Google Podcasts Creator Program 2022 for Podcast Creators ($12,000 funding) | Competitions and Awards | Virtual | January-April | https://training.prx.org/programs/google-podcasts-creator-program | |
Google Solution Challenge 2022 for University Students Worldwide | Competitions and Awards | Virtual | January -March | https://developers.google.com/community/gdsc-solution-challenge | |
Hubert Humphrey Scholarshp/ | Scholarships and fellowships | USA | July-October | https://www.humphreyfellowship.org/ | |
Jack Ma Foundation's 2022 Africa's Business Competition | Competitions and Awards | Virtual | March-June | https://www.wamda.com/2022/04/jack-ma-foundations-2022-africas-business-heroes-competition | |
Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS) Writers’ Workshop 2022 for African Writers | Conferences | South Africa | November-February | https://jias.joburg/ | |
Johnson-Johnson One young World Programme | Conferences | Different countries | November-January | https://www.oneyoungworld.com/scholarships/johnson-johnson/2022#:~:text=About%20the%20Scholarship&text=The%20Team%20leads%20the%20global,the%20world's%20most%20vulnerable%20people. | |
Koffi Anan Global Health Scholarship | Scholarships and fellowships | Home country | September-December | https://africacdc.org/kofi-annan-global-health-leadership-programme/ | |
Knight Hennessy Scholarship | Scholarships and fellowships | USA | July - October | https://knight-hennessy.stanford.edu/ | |
Kwame Nkrumah University of Scienve and Technology-Mastercard Foundation | Scholarships and fellowships | Ghana | Before June 2022 | https://mcf.knust.edu.gh/ | |
Light Award | Competitions and Awards | Burundi | July onwards | ||
Lund University Global Scholarship | Scholarships and fellowships | Sweden | October -January | https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/admissions/bachelors-and-masters-studies/scholarships-and-awards/lund-university-global-scholarship | |
Mandela Washington Fellowship | Scholarships and fellowships | USA | August-September | https://www.mandelawashingtonfellowship.org/ | |
Merck Foundation Scholarships in Medicine 2022 for Students in African and Developing Countries | Scholarships and fellowships | Virtual | Before April, and before July | https://merck-foundation.com/ | |
MIT Africa Innovate Pitch Competition | Competitions and Awards | USA | January -March | http://www.mitafrica.com/aic2022.html | |
Mo Ibrahim Foundation Scholarships -4 universities | Scholarships and fellowships | UK | January-April | https://mo.ibrahim.foundation/fellowships/scholarships | |
Obama Foundation Scholars - Africa | Scholarships and fellowships | USA | May-June | https://www.obama.org/scholars/ | |
Rhodes scholarships (Masters) | Scholarships and fellowships | UK | June-August | https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/scholarships/applications/east-africa/eligibilitycriteria/ | |
Rise program | Competitions and Awards | Home country | December - January | https://www.risefortheworld.org/ | |
Roberta Annan Scholarship for African Undergraduate Students | Scholarships and fellowships | UK | March-May | https://africanfashionfoundation.org/projects/ | |
Schwarzman Scholars Program | Scholarships and fellowships | China | April-September | https://www.schwarzmanscholars.org/ | |
Sisters in Success | Conferences | Burundi | Summer | https://www.sistersinsuccess.org/ | |
Star Leadership Academy | Scholarships and fellowships | Zimbabwe | Nomination | https://starleadershipacademy.org/ | |
Strathmore University | Scholarships and fellowships | Kenya | Mars 2022 | https://strathmore.edu/events/2022-open-day-and-scholarship-contest-in-burundi/ | |
TU Delft_ Sub-saharan Africa Scholarship/masters | Scholarships and fellowships | Netherlands | September-December | https://www.tudelft.nl/onderwijs/praktische-zaken/scholarships/sub-saharan-africa-excellence-scholarships | |
Tujenge Scholars program | Scholarships and fellowships | Burundi | Varies: Before June | https://www.tujenge.org/ | |
Türkiye Scholarships | Scholarships and fellowships | Turkey | January -February | https://turkiyeburslari.gov.tr/ | |
United States international University - Mastercard Foundation | Scholarships and fellowships | Kenya | September-October | https://www.usiu.ac.ke/mcf-scholars-program/ | |
United World Colleges | Scholarships and fellowships | Different countries | Varies | https://www.uwc.org/ | |
University of Capetown-Mastercard Foundation | Scholarships and fellowships | South Africa | September- April | http://www.mcfsp.uct.ac.za/ | |
University of Global Health Equity | Scholarships and fellowships | Rwanda | June-July | https://ughe.org/ | |
University of Nottingham-Masters | Scholarships and fellowships | UK | February- May | https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pgstudy/funding/developing-solutions-masters-scholarship | |
WomEng Africa Innovation Fellowship 2022 for Female African Innovators | Conferences | Virtual | September-October | https://www.womhub.com/ | |
Yale Young African Scholars | Scholarships and fellowships | Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda or Zimbabwe | September to February | https://africanscholars.yale.edu | |
Yale Young Global Scholars | Conferences | USA | September to January | https://globalscholars.yale.edu/ | |
YALI -Regional Leadership Centers | Conferences | Kenya | March -May | https://www.yalieastafrica.org/ | |
Zurich Foundation Scholarship 2022 | Scholarships and fellowships | Japan | September-December | https://www.oneyoungworld.com/scholarships/z-zurich-foundation/2022 | |
McKinsey’s Forward Program | Scholarships and fellowships | Virtual | March -June | https://www.mckinsey.com/forward/regions/africa | |
AFS Global STEM Accelerators | Scholarships and fellowships | Virtual | February-May | https://afs.org/global-stem/accelerators/ | |
Rotary Peace Fellowships | Scholarships and fellowships | Different countries | March-May | https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/peace-fellowships | |
Check | |||||
Fullbright Scholarship | |||||
Study opportunities | |||||
After school Africa | |||||
Opportunities for Africans | |||||
Don's opportunities |