DHL GoTrade GBSN Fellowship Program

Deutsche Post DHL Group and GBSN partner to break down barriers to global trade.


APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2025 INTAKE ARE NOW OPEN!

Purpose Driven

In furtherance of our mission to improve management and entrepreneurial education, GBSN has partnered with one of its corporate members DPDHL to develop the GoTrade GBSN Fellowship Program. This Fellowship Program is designed to partner selected postgraduate business students with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the developing world with the aim of fostering greater cross-border trade. This directly addresses our collective mission at GBSN –– to improve access to quality, locally relevant management and entrepreneurial education for the developing world. GoTrade is education and access.

A Powerful Lever for Sustained Economic Growth

Working with governments and international organizations, we will help to remove red tape at the border and support small and medium sized businesses in developing and least developing countries to increase cross border trade. We leverage our core logistics competencies and tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience within the DPDHL Group to help countries implement best-in-class policies and procedures at the border and help local businesses to access the global market. Reduction of trade-related red tape and streamlined logistics performance accelerate the flow of goods and business growth, especially for SMEs, whose success is so critical to achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

Objectives

Value of Cross-Border Trade

The Fellowship Program teaches SMEs and Fellows about the value of cross-border trade and gives SMEs the tools to access the global marketplace. Helping SMEs in the world’s developing and least developed countries access global markets is a proven way to connect people and improve lives.

Experiential Learning Opportunities

Creating meaningful experiential learning opportunities for top performing business students who will learn through collaboration with the SMEs how to operate in often ill-defined markets, with scarce resources, in less structured environments.

Pairing Students + SMEs

The Fellowship Program will pair graduate business students (MBA/MSc/Masters/PhD) with SMEs for 8 months. Each GoTrade GBSN Fellow will be assigned an SME to advise, consult, and collaborate with. The GoTrade GBSN Fellowship Program will convene regular virtual sessions bringing all students together with speakers on relevant subject matter to aid their learning objectives, with the additional goal of fostering networking among peers.

Fellows will be supported by:

  • DPDHL mentors
  • Coaching and mentoring with SMEs
  • DPDHL Certified Program learning journey covering basics of international trade

2024 SME countries:

Namibia, Ghana, Georgia, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ukraine, South Africa, Malaysia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Saldvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Perú.

Student Eligibility Criteria

Graduate students from across the globe who meet the following criteria are invited to apply.


  1. Enrolled at a participating GBSN member school at the start fellowship
  2. Commitment to complete 8 month fellowship program starting March 2025
  3. All students are required to be comfortable communicating in English. For those matched with SMEs in Latin America, proficiency in Spanish or Portuguese is required
  4. Ability to commit to an estimated 12 to 15 hours per month
  5. Proven work experience
  6. Strong analytical skills
  7. Entrepreneurial and proactive mindset
  8. Interest in an international community

APPLICATION MATERIALS

To complete the application form you will be required to upload:

  • A professional photo / headshot
  • A short CV / resume (2 pages)
  • A short video (no more than 2 minutes maximum) in which you introduce yourself to us. Let us know who you are and why we should select you. You may upload your video to any streaming platform (YouTube, Vimeo, etc) and share the link with us. The video may be unlisted (NOT private).

We welcome students with experience in any commercial field. Those with a background in Marketing, Sales, Logistics, Operations, Law, Supply Chain and eCommerce are especially encouraged to apply.

Review the Program Guides to get a sense of what to expect in 2025

Previous Fellows