The Young Water Fellowship is the flagship incubation programme of Young Water Solutions, a non-profit based in Paris and founded in 2015. Fifteen editions have run so far and more than 150 startups have come through them. Fellows are early-stage founders building water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) businesses in their own communities.
Each edition combines a two-week in-person startup training delivered with local and international incubators, tailored coaching, and matchmaking with experts and potential customers. Teams can apply for up to $5,000 to pilot their project. The fellowship runs as separate country editions rather than one global call, and Young Water Solutions has announced new programmes in Ghana and Uganda for 2026 with dates still to be published.
Benefits & funding
- Up to $5,000 per team in pilot funding, applied for during the programme.
- A two-week in-person startup training run with local and international incubators.
- Tailored coaching and expert matchmaking after the training, aimed at landing first paying customers.
- The Ghana edition ran a twelve-month cycle: two five-day bootcamps, online individual coaching throughout, and a USD 5,000 seed-funding grant for market validation.
- Alumni can continue into the organisation’s later-stage tracks, including post-incubation technical assistance and the acceleration programme run with cewas.
Eligibility
- Founders and co-founders of an early-stage WASH venture with a solid business idea or a working prototype.
- Young entrepreneurs; the Ghana edition set the age band at 18 to 35 years old at the start of the programme.
- Each edition is country-scoped. The Ghana edition required applicants to be Ghanaian citizens living in Ghana, and the 2026 calls are announced for Ghana and Uganda. Read the country conditions on the live call before applying.
- The venture must serve communities in the host country, rural or urban.
- Working English plus reliable computer and internet access were required in the Ghana edition.
- Applicants must be able to attend the in-person bootcamps.
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.
Eligible nationalities
Ghana
Age requirement
18–35 yrs
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Application process
- 1Check the open-call section of the Young Water Solutions community page for an edition covering your country.
- 2Open that edition’s own application portal; the Ghana edition ran on its own site at ghanaincubation.creation.camp.
- 3Complete the application form. The Ghana form asked about 40 questions on the applicant, the venture, background and motivation.
- 4Attach a CV, and record a short video of about two minutes where the edition asks for one.
- 5Submit before the edition deadline. In the Ghana cycle, selection was announced about a month later.
- 6If selected, confirm your place, attend the kick-off online, and attend the first bootcamp in person.
Program timeline
Application deadline (Ghana edition)
Jul 28, 2024
Selection announced
August 2024
Kick-off
Sep 2, 2024
First five-day bootcamp begins
Sep 16, 2024
MVP development phase
October–November 2024
Second bootcamp
December 2024
Pilot projects
December 2024 – April 2025
Programme closure
May–June 2025
New Ghana and Uganda programmes announced, application deadline not yet published
2026