WHAT YOU CAN USE A FISA FOR

A FISA is neither a scholarship nor a loan. It is an agreement you enter to receive funding and pay forward a portion of your future earnings.

This agreement is available to women pursuing post-secondary education or studies after high school. This applies to, but is not limited to, degree programmes like Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD and specialized training programmes like short certificate courses, bootcamps, and academies that build hard and soft skills. We are currently committing our funds to women who will graduate in under two years.

You can request up to US$5,000 to support costs associated with your education like:

• Academic costs: tuition fees, course fees, etc.
• Living expenses: school materials and other costs related to day-to-day expenses
• Housing costs: rent, water, electricity, internet, etc.

Funding does not cover student loan repayments, conference costs, health expenses, or start-up capital for businesses.

ELIGIBILITY & SELECTION CRITERIA

Currently, FISAs are available to women* at least 18 years old from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, or Vietnam. We are actively looking for funding and partners to expand the reach of our education funding.

*At Wedu, we see gender as a matter of self-determination, and our definition of ‘women’ includes cis women, trans women and everyone who identifies as a woman using she/her or she/they pronouns. While the funding opportunity is only open to women, we engage and mobilise allies of all genders, including men, women, and gender-expansive/gender-fluid folks, in support of our mission.

To become a FISA member, you must:

• Demonstrate leadership ambitions and abilities

• Be proficient in English and fully understand the use of FISA and how it relates to your long-term leadership aspirations

• Demonstrate an understanding of your projected future earnings

• Have the ability to make an online payment or bank transfer of US$ 2 to confirm that you can make your monthly contribution during your contract period

• Demonstrate that the requested funding is the final amount required to complete the educational opportunity and does not exceed US$5,000 in total. Any additional funding required to complete your education beyond the FISA amount requested should already be secured (e.g through family support, scholarships, institutional loans, etc.)

• Accepted or are currently enrolled in the education programme

• Have strong recommendations from both personal and professional references

• Have completed Wedu’s Introduction to Leadership online course

• Women within Wedu’s leadership community of Rising Stars and Mentors are especially welcome

CONDITIONAL OFFER

Should any of the criteria not be fulfilled yet at the moment of application, we may consider using a conditional offer letter which would become effective at the time of meeting all requirements. A conditional offer would not become a full offer unless all eligibility requirements are met within an agreed timeframe.

EXPECTATIONS

After receiving a FISA, members are expected to:

•   Regularly communicate with Wedu’s funding team as needed, including informing Wedu if you have major changes in your studies and leadership journey (e.g. graduation, employment, changes in life circumstances etc.).

•   Make monthly contributions for the duration of your contract. While you are still studying or involuntarily unemployed, your contributions are fixed at US$ 2 per month to build regular payment habits. Upon employment, monthly contributions switch over to the agreed-upon income percentage (e.g. 7% of earnings for 7 years).

•   Participate in FISA-related activities as needed. (e.g. Monitoring, Evaluating, and Learning (MEL) process of the programme, speaking opportunities, etc.).

APPLICATION PROCESS

Submit your application through this form. Please make sure to download and complete the Budget Form here and attach it to the Application Form.

After reviewing your application, we will schedule one-on-one calls to learn more about your education financing needs and leadership aspirations. Prior to the call, we may ask for clarifying questions or supporting documents to understand your financing needs better. After completing the calls, you choose your contract terms (% of future income and # of agreed years to contribute) and provide other necessary documents. And then, FISA funds will be transferred to your account.

Your application can take 4-6 weeks to process, from application to disbursement. Prompt communication with the funding team and providing timely requested information will help ensure we commit to this timeline.

For inquiries, please write to funding@weduglobal.org.

DEADLINE

Funding applications can be submitted at any time throughout the year and are reviewed on a rolling basis.