FOR ASPIRE GRADUATES
Completing the
Aspire Leaders Program is
the beginning, not the end.
When you complete the Aspire Leaders Program (ALP), a new set of doors opens. Funding to launch your ideas. Mentorship from leaders who’ve walked the same path. Exclusive partner tools to help you achieve your goals. A community that keeps growing — and keeps showing up for you.
🎓 These opportunities are available to all graduates of the ALP. Not yet a graduate? Apply here →
139K+
Aspire alumni worldwide
195
Countries represented
$400K+
In grants awarded to alumni projects
530+
Volunteers across 29 countries
WHAT IS THE EXTENDED LEADERSHIP PROGRAM?
Everything you
built in nine weeks
keeps building after.
The Extended Leadership Program (ELP) is Aspire’s alumni program — the ongoing infrastructure that graduates can access for the rest of their careers. It’s not a course you take. It’s a community you belong to, a set of resources you can draw on, and a network that gets more valuable the longer you’re in it.
Three pathways cover where most graduates want to go next: launching a venture, building their career, or going further in education. Within each pathway, targeted micro-grants remove the financial barriers that otherwise slow first-generation leaders down.
Alongside the pathways, mentorship from professionals who understand regional opportunities, and volunteer leadership roles that let you build while giving back.
What you get access to the moment you graduate
→ Funding for entrepreneurial ventures, community projects, academic advancement, certifications and presenting at conferences
→ Regional and country-specific mentorship from experienced professionals
→ Leadership volunteer roles that build your CV while supporting the next generation of Aspire students
→ Alumni Pathways Hub — tools, resources, and a global network that stays live
→ The Monthly Newsletter connecting you to opportunities across the Aspire community
→ Access to Aspire Foundry events and local programming in your country
THREE PATHWAYS TO ECONOMIC MOBILITY
Where do you want to go next?
The ELP Pathways keeps Aspire graduates engaged with access to resources, partner tools, mentorship, and targeted micro-grants designed to help them take their next step. Choose the pathway that fits where you are.
🚀
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Launch or scale a venture that creates community impact
You have an idea — or you’ve already started. This pathway gives you the funding, mentorship, and connections to take it further. Aspire alumni have launched formally registered organizations, community initiatives, and social enterprises that have collectively reached hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries across 24 countries.
Seed Fund
Community Action Award
Conference Grant
UP TO $500
UP TO $5K
UP TO $1K
📈
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Improved job readiness, competitiveness, and career progress
The job market rewards credentials, networks, and confidence. This pathway gives you support across all three — tools to sharpen your job application materials, mentors from your region who understand the landscape, and funding to pursue the certifications and experiences that move you forward.
Skills Advancement Grant
Alumni Resource Hub
UP TO $200
FREE ACCESS
🎓
HIGHER EDUCATION & RESEARCH
Stronger qualifications and access to the next level
Graduate school applications, standardized exam preparation, research opportunities — this pathway supports the practical and financial side of continuing your education. Mentorship from alumni and faculty who’ve made this journey is part of the package, not an afterthought.
Academic Advancement Grant
Conference Grant
Research Mentorship
UP TO $300
UP TO $1K
INCLUDED
MENTORSHIP
Guidance from people who understand your world.
The Aspire Mentorship Series connects alumni with experienced professionals who know the opportunities and challenges of their specific regions — not generic career advice, but real guidance for your context.
REGIONAL MENTORSHIP SERIES
Professionals who understand your region’s landscape
Connects alumni with leading professionals who understand the specific opportunities and challenges of their region — Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, and more. Regional mentors bring local knowledge and global networks, grounding Aspire’s global reach in what’s actually happening where you are.
COUNTRY MENTORSHIP SERIES
Country-specific guidance from experienced practitioners
Country-specific sessions led by experienced professionals who know your local job market, educational pathways, and professional landscape. This is the kind of mentorship that most first-generation graduates have never had access to — people who’ve navigated the same system and can help you do it faster.
GIVE BACK
The community is built by the people in it.
More than 530 Aspire alumni volunteer across 29 countries — organizing events, supporting current students, mentoring cohorts, and growing Aspire’s reach into communities that need it. These roles build your leadership CV while giving the next generation what you got.
🏘️
Community Leaders
Plan and host in-person alumni learning sessions, peer discussions, and community events that keep the global network active and connected.
🌐
Domain Leaders
Host online alumni events in your field, inviting local domain experts to lead sessions that connect professional knowledge to the community.
🎓
Campus Leaders
Grow Aspire’s reach through local outreach at your university or in your city — connecting new students to the ALP and building the pipeline of the next generation.
💬
Moderators
Support current ALP learners and alumni through office hours and online cohort help — the kind of peer support that makes the difference between completing the program and dropping off.
FROM THE COMMUNITY
What graduates are building.
Alumni-led projects have reached over 168,000 direct beneficiaries across 76 countries. These are a few of the people behind those numbers.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Beryl Mungai
ALP Graduate · Kenya · Kwa Ground Shuleni
“Aspire gave me the tools, the confidence, and the funding to stop being a witness and start being part of the solution.”
Beryl saw the mental health crisis quietly devastating young people in Kenya — and she had the drive to act. The Aspire Leaders Program gave her the leadership framework, the Community Action Award to fund her initiative, and a network of mentors to help her sustain it. Kwa Ground Shuleni now operates across multiple schools in Kenya, providing peer support programs and mental health first-aid training to students who had no other access.
CAA
Community Action Award recipient
Kenya
Multiple schools reached
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Angel Solis
2025 CAA Winner · Chiapas, Mexico · Kukulmat
“The funding didn’t just help us reach more kids. It helped us become an organization.”
Angel’s organization Kukulmat combines indigenous Maya numeracy with hands-on STEM education for children in Chiapas. With a $4,000 Community Action Award from Aspire, Kukulmat registered formally as an organization and expanded its reach — running STEM labs, cultural workshops, and ambassador-led activities for children and youth who would otherwise have no access to this kind of education.
$4,000
Community Action Award
225+
Children and youth reached
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Fana Wiggins
ALP Graduate · Trinidad & Tobago
“The ELP pathway layout it’s amazing. I love the fact that the selection of pathways isn’t rigid (as someone with multiple interests).”
A civil and environmental engineer in the making from Trinidad, Fana is building her future one layer at a time — balancing work and certifications. She connected with ELP Pathway partner Global Mentorship Initiative and is now taking part in their 1:1 mentorship program. She is focused on career planning and sharpening her job search.
Sessions 8–10 will have her actively applying for roles aligned with her full potential. She’s just getting started.
Questions about Alumni Opportunities
Common questions from prospective and current Aspire students.
-
When do I get access to the Extended Leadership Program?
Access to the ELP opens when you complete both modules of the Aspire Leaders Program. Grant applications open several times in a year, with information being available in your portal after you graduate.
-
Do I have to choose one pathway, or can I access more than one?
You’re not locked into a single pathway. If your goals span more than one area — for example, launching a venture while also applying to graduate school — you can access opportunities across pathways.
-
How competitive are the grants?
Grant applications are reviewed on the merit of your proposal and the potential impact of your project or goal. To date, Aspire has awarded over $400k to 600+ alumni across 77 countries through Seed Funds, Community Action Awards, Academic Advancement Grants, and Skills Advancement Grants. The best applications are specific, grounded, and connected to work you’ve already started.
-
What if I haven’t applied to the Aspire Leaders Program yet?
Everything on this page is available to you after you graduate from the ALP. The program is free, takes about 3–5 hours per week for nine weeks, and is open to first-generation and limited-income university students and recent graduates aged 18–29. The application takes 10 minutes.
START WITH THE ALP
Everything here starts with
a 10-minute application.
The Aspire Leaders Program is free, fully online, and built for first-generation university students and recent graduates around the world. Graduate from the ALP, and everything on this page is yours.
2026 COHORTS
Apply before your cohort closes.
Cohort 2 – 2026
April 29 – June 30
Closed
Cohort 3 – 2026
July 22 – September 20
No essays. No fees. 10 minutes.
