Entrepreneur in Residence Intern (Summer 2025)
Entrepreneur in Residence Intern (Summer 2025)
Location: South Africa/Botswana, Cape Town, Johannesburg, or Virtual (Hybrid available)
Interns Needed: 1
Eligibility: Bachelor’s degree or background in Business, Finance, Entrepreneurship, or related fields.
Our partner organisation - a fast-growing FinTech company in South Africa is looking for a dynamic, entrepreneurial-minded intern ready to explore new business models and support company-wide innovation. This role is ideal for self-starters with a passion for solving real-world problems in digital commerce and building across functions like product, growth, operations, and customer experience.
Interns will be deeply embedded in agile project teams, exploring scalable business strategies and contributing to a high-growth startup's success.
Key Responsibilities:
- Work on diverse projects spanning product, operations, growth, and customer success.
- Conduct market research and develop insights for strategic business decisions
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive execution of key initiatives
- Test and propose new business models to improve digital payment solutions
- Assist with operational process mapping and performance optimization
What You’ll Gain:
- First-hand experience in a high-impact FinTech startup environment
- Practical understanding of scaling digital businesses in emerging markets
- Exposure to strategic thinking and innovation processes
- Mentorship in entrepreneurship, customer discovery, and lean startup methods
Undergraduate or graduate students of African descent or those returning to SOUTH AFRICA or BOTSWANA for summer are strongly encouraged to apply.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Presently, in-person internships are structured as STIPEND-PAID and are available only to students with flights & accommodation sorted, while virtual internships are UNPAID because, for the most part, our partners in Africa are unable to offer competitive rates compared to organizations in the US. Students are encouraged to apply for grants or funding from their universities or third-party organizations. Here is a link to some additional funding resources. In select cases, DOWA may offer grants directly to students.
These unpaid internship opportunities meet the requirements set forth by the US Department of Labor (FLSA); see https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm. Interns engage virtually for about 14–16 hours per week for a duration of 8–10 weeks in beneficial learnings from innovators which can be tied to the intern’s formal education program through integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credit. The DOWA initiative ensures access to development opportunities such as ongoing mentorship, cultural immersion, personal and professional development sessions.
Please view past interns' impact stories for additional insights: www.dowafrica.org
If you have any additional questions, please contact: info@dowafrica.org