Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK

I had the most incredible week in Accra, Ghana facilitating entrepreneurial workshops as part of the Imperial College London Commonwealth Startup Fellowship. It fills me with joy to represent GuessWorks alongside my good friend Hattie Willis in the service of founders across Commonwealth nations. 🇬🇭🇿🇲🇲🇼🇳🇬🇨🇲🇹🇿🇮🇳🇧🇩🇰🇪 Hard to believe in a week we covered: ✅ Strategy & Scaling ✅ Financial Modelling ✅ Fundraising Strategy ✅ Go To Market Strategy I was left so humbled by the enthusiasm, engagement and curiosity of the founders. It was clear from our conversations that we need more Venture Capital and Angel Investing in African startups!! African startups shouldn't have to et up Deleware companies and move to the States to close a round. These are not "AI-hype cycle" startups, these startups were solving real problems such as providing solar electricity to rural villages, preventive healthcare and cost-effective feed for farming. Real solutions, to real problems, need to be supported by REAL capital!! Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK Natalie Mizuik Imperial Global Ghana Kevin Ibeh Ben Mumby-Croft Sarah Ranchev-Hale Victoria Nicholl Ingeborg Albert Clare T. Abbie Ninson Taiwo Oyewole James Nyamai Stephen Ogweno Nyifamu Ogechi Manzo, MBA Maryanne G. Martin Masiya Luther Jesse Quarshie Ifeoluwa Tryphena Olatayo

🌍 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟯 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 🚀 Long hours. High stakes. The relentless pressure of building something from the ground up. Founders know the 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦—but how do you prepare your body and mind to handle it? And more importantly, how do you shift from surviving to thriving instead of slipping into burnout? The key? 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. When you know your strategies, everything feels like a choice—not just something happening to you. Today, we explored: ⚡𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺: Recognising the early signs before they derail you. ⚡𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗭𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹: Understanding how to work with your natural rhythms for peak performance. ⚡𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: Where to focus your time and energy for maximum impact. ⚡𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 & 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲: How to protect your mental resilience while leading at full speed. ⚡𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝘄: A powerful visualisation exercise to align today’s actions with your long-term legacy. Watching these founders step into their future leadership potential was incredible. One thing is clear—resilience isn’t just about endurance. It’s about strategy. The week keeps getting better. This was my penultimate day with the team so watch out for my reflection post wrapping up the whole experience 💡🔥 #leadership #commonwealth #startup #accra #innovation #entrepreneurship #commonwealthstartupfellowship #foundertoleader #eq #emotionalintelligence #ei Imperial Enterprise Lab Imperial Global Ghana

Our leaders in sustainable development getting a key masterclass from Natalie Mizuik. We can't wait to see what the Commonwealth Startup Fellows will achieve through their enterprises!

The CSC works with Non-Government Organisations and charitable bodies alongside our National Nominating agencies to help widen access to Commonwealth Scholarships. CSC Commissioner Professor Kevin Ibeh was pleased to meet with our partners at the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) on his recent visit to Ghana. Our partnership with FAWE has helped increase applications from female candidates for our Master’s and PhD programmes, and it was great to hear about the work they do in Ghana and explore ways the CSC can further support our partners in this important work. Learn more about CSC’s NGO nominating agencies here: https://lnkd.in/ezBTjXaT

Recently participated in the Poster Competition at the Sustainability Festival, a key event of Sustainability Week 2025 at the University of Strathclyde. I presented my research on "From Kitchen to Kilowatts: Sustainable Biochar Waste Supercapacitor," which explores bio-waste-derived carbon—specifically from pistachio shells—as a sustainable and cost-effective energy storage material. Alongside this, I had the opportunity to attend the Strathclyde Sustainability Symposium 2025 at Barony Hall, brought together students, researchers, and industry experts to discuss innovative solutions for a sustainable future. It featured insightful sessions. A huge thanks to my mentor Dr. Aruna Ivaturi and Prof. Saroj Kumar Nayak, as well as the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK for supporting this research. I would also like to thank my group members Sandeep Pandey, PhD and Dr. Sanjay Sandhu for their support. Grateful for the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and contribute to the conversation on sustainable energy solutions! #SustainabilityWeek2025 #Strathclyde #SustainableEnergy #CleanTech #BioWaste #Supercapacitors #CircularEconomy #ResearchInnovation #CommonwealthScholarship #iitbbsr #IITBBSR

After a 1 day delay, an unexpected detour via Amsterdam, and many rebooked flights due to the Heathrow closure, we made it to Ghana to launch our new programme with Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office - The Commonwealth Startup Fellowship! 🇬🇭 🙌 Today, we welcomed 20 exceptional high-potential, and high-growth startup founders who, over the next two weeks, will dive into an intensive program designed to accelerate their businesses and create lasting impact. We kicked off Day One by focusing on leadership and values with Natalie Mizuik. A strong foundation of purpose-driven leadership isn’t just a “nice to have”—it’s essential for scaling a company with resilience, integrity, and long-term success. This fellowship isn’t just about business growth; it’s about building companies that lead with vision, empower their teams, and create meaningful change across industries. Find out more about the companies tackling challenges in health, energy, agriculture and fintech over the next few days as we officially announce the cohort 👇 🇬🇭🇿🇲🇲🇼🇳🇬🇨🇲🇹🇿🇮🇳🇧🇩🇰🇪 Want to get involved? Get in touch! Want to apply to the next cohort? We open in June for cohort 2 applications. Imperial College London Imperial Enterprise Lab Imperial Global Ghana Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ben Mumby-Croft Victoria Nicholl Janet Murray Hattie Willis Andy Ayim MBE Anna B Sexton Ifeoluwa Ogunbufunmi Emily Fiagbedzi Lady-Omega Hammond Anita Asiedu Clare T. Abigail Ninson Ingeborg Albert Kristiana B. Harry Tomkins Kevin Ibeh Tim Weiss Michael McTernan Susie Burpee Ruth Louise McConnell Simon Hepworth

Imperial College London are thrilled to launch the Commonwealth Startup Fellowship in partnership with the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office! This six-month accelerator is designed to support startups from low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries to scale their businesses, create jobs, and drive sustainable impact. Are you a startup founder? If you’re leading an innovative business with big ambitions, this programme is your chance to access fully funded expert mentorship, global networks, and tailored support to fuel your growth. You will join us at Imperial Global Ghana in Accra for a two-week bootcamp, and selected startups will attend a final capstone at Imperial College London, UK. Your startup should show early-stage traction and be registered in one of the countries listed below 👇 The Fellowship includes: 💷 Access to an equity-free Fellows Fund 🎓 Fully funded 2-week intensive bootcamp in Accra, Ghana 💻 Online workshops and coaching 💡 Build a global network of fellow entrepreneurs 💰 Pitch to and meet investors and partners from around the world 📢 Applications are open now: https://lnkd.in/dgu4bpHV 👇 Tag someone you think should apply in the comments below.   The early application deadline is Wednesday 15th January.  The second, and final deadline is Monday 17th February 2025. Online Information Sessions are running on Monday 6 January at 10am (GMT) and 5pm (GMT).  10am session – book here; https://lnkd.in/dtePeFXF  5pm session – book here: https://lnkd.in/dvxrpXR4 Eligible countries: Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Dominica, Eswatini, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, St Helena, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines Samoa, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia Ben Mumby-Croft, Clare T., Michael McTernan, Susie Kitchens, Jenn Rowater, Somaya Wessels, Joanne Gardner, Susie Burpee,  Rosanna Gillespie, Rich Woods, Mary Ryan, Simon Hepworth, Alexander Page, Ruth Louise McConnell, Sylvia Garvin, Jennifer Mills, Imperial Enterprise, Imperial Global Singapore, Global Development Hub at Imperial College London, Victoria Nicholl, James Groves, Tim Weiss

Like Commonwealth Alumnus James Otai, we are passionate about providing the next generation of Commonwealth entrepreneurs with the tools and resources to innovate and accelerate their sustainable business ventures. Our special focus programme this year will enable budding entrepreneurs to build thriving businesses that drive job creation and economic empowerment in their countries. So, it is inspiring to read James' story of overcoming economic instability and giving back to the community through the social enterprise he co-founded, Imagine Her (IH). #CommonwealthChangeLeaders #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #Resilience

We were delighted to join Commonwealth Scholars in attending the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey last week. Alongside a distinguished audience of leaders, athletes, faith leaders, and performers, we celebrated the culture and connections that make the Commonwealth so special. Find out more: https://bit.ly/3Rle07q #CommonwealthDay

We are looking forward to joining this conversation between Reverend Dr James Movel Wuye and Imam Dr Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa, winners of the inaugural #Commonwealth Peace Prize. Hosted by The Commonwealth and the Khalili Foundation, the event will explore approaches to promoting peace and mutual understanding through the work of the Interfaith Mediation Centre in Nigeria. Find out more and watch live: https://bit.ly/41VcwH7