The YOCILAB NextGen Fellowship is a four-month leadership and innovation program designed specifically for young graduates and early-career professionals in Cameroon. This intensive fellowship creates a transformative pathway for participants to build employability skills, nurture entrepreneurial innovation, and grow as resilient leaders capable of driving meaningful change in their communities.
The Fair is also open to the wider youth community, creating a ripple effect of inspiration and opportunity that extends beyond the fellowship participants themselves.
Core Focus Areas
The YOCILAB NextGen Fellowship combines learning, mentorship, and experiential practice across three interconnected focus areas, each essential for success in the modern economy.
Employability and the Future of Work
Fellows develop the competencies and mindset necessary to excel in 21st-century workplaces. This includes career development and personal branding strategies that help participants articulate their unique value proposition, digital skills and remote work readiness that are increasingly essential in a globalized economy, professional communication and collaboration techniques that enable effective teamwork, and a deep understanding of the future of work and emerging trends that are reshaping industries and creating new opportunities.
Entrepreneurship and Local Innovation
Participants learn how to design, test, and scale ideas that solve local problems and create value in their communities. The curriculum covers opportunity identification and market research methods that reveal unmet needs and viable business possibilities, business model design and value creation frameworks that transform ideas into sustainable ventures, innovation thinking and local problem-solving approaches that are contextually appropriate and culturally relevant, and practical guidance on accessing funding, investors, and markets that can help bring innovations to scale.
Resilience, Leadership and Well-being
Fellows strengthen their capacity to lead with purpose, manage stress, and stay grounded even in uncertain times. This dimension of the program emphasizes self-leadership and emotional intelligence as foundational capabilities for all other forms of leadership, adaptive leadership skills that enable participants to navigate ambiguity and complexity, team building and communication strategies that foster collaboration and trust, and mindfulness and personal well-being practices that support sustainable performance and authentic presence.
What Fellows Gain
By the end of the fellowship, participants will have gained critical employability and entrepreneurial skills that position them for success in diverse career paths. They develop clarity and confidence in their career journey, moving from uncertainty to purposeful action. Fellows connect directly with mentors, employers, and investors who can open doors and provide ongoing support. They gain access to the YOCILAB opportunity database containing over 1,500 opportunities updated monthly, including jobs, internships, scholarships, grants, and professional development programs.
Perhaps most importantly, fellows build resilience and leadership strength that will serve them throughout their lives, and they join a lifelong NextGen Alumni Network of changemakers who continue to learn, collaborate, and support one another long after the formal fellowship concludes.
Who Should Apply
The YOCILAB NextGen Fellowship seeks young Cameroonians who are ready to invest in their own development and committed to creating positive impact in their communities. To be eligible, applicants must be Cameroonian citizens between the ages of 18 and 30, either recent graduates or early-career professionals with a demonstrated passion for leadership, innovation, or social impact. Candidates must be available for the entire program duration and willing to commit the 30,000 FCFA fellowship fee if selected.
Application Process and Deadline
Applications for the 2025 cohort are due by December 5, 2025 at 11:59 PM West Africa Time. Prospective fellows should complete all required sections of the application carefully and thoughtfully. Applications that rely on artificial intelligence or are incomplete will not be considered. The selection process values authenticity, clarity of purpose, and genuine commitment to personal and community development.
All data submitted through the application will be treated with strict confidentiality and used solely for fellowship selection and program communication purposes.
A Collaborative Approach
The YOCILAB NextGen Fellowship is implemented by YOCILAB in collaboration with local and international partners, universities, and corporate organizations who share a commitment to empowering Africa’s next generation. The program welcomes partnerships with organizations that believe in the power of skills development, innovation, and leadership to transform lives and communities.
Join the Movement
The YOCILAB NextGen Fellowship represents more than just a professional development program. It is an invitation to join a growing movement of young leaders, innovators, and professionals who are actively shaping the future of work in Africa and driving positive change across industries and regions.
For young Cameroonians ready to take the next step in their journey, ready to develop the skills and mindset needed to thrive in an evolving economy, and ready to connect with a community of like-minded changemakers, the NextGen Fellowship offers a unique and transformative opportunity.
