Emergent Ventures is a low-overhead fellowship and grant program launched by the Mercatus Center in 2018. It supports entrepreneurs and other thinkers and doers pursuing highly scalable, unconventional ideas for meaningful social improvement.
Mercatus faculty director Tyler Cowen administers the program. Applicants may work from anywhere, while projects focused on India, Africa and the Caribbean, or Ukraine can select the corresponding regional option in the common application.
Benefits & funding
- Project-specific grant funding; the program publishes no typical range or average award.
- Support is tailored: some recipients may join a fuller fellowship experience, while others receive grant funding for their projects.
- The program may provide access to mentors and relevant networks alongside financial support.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be at least 13 years old.
- Applications are welcomed from all parts of the world; no nationality or residency restriction is stated.
- No degree or formal-credential requirement is stated.
- Individuals and teams may apply, but a team must designate one point of contact.
- Proposals should pursue positive social change; profit-making projects are allowed.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Age requirement
≥ 13 yrs
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Application process
- 1Open the official application and select the project’s affected region, including a dedicated regional option when applicable.
- 2Answer the basic questions and submit a self-contained proposal of no more than 1,500 words covering the applicant’s story, one mainstream view they agree with, and the idea and problem it addresses.
- 3Add a basic budget and, when relevant, project history, working commitment, partners, and optional supporting files in an accepted format.
- 4Complete the required declarations, consent, and reCAPTCHA, then submit; responses are typically sent within one week.
Program timeline
Applications
Accepted on a rolling basis with no fixed deadline.
After submission
A response is typically sent within one week.