Emergent Ventures

About

A fellowship and grant program administered by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University funds ambitious, high-reward projects that aim to improve prosperity, opportunity, liberty and well-being.

Benefits

• 💰Project-specific grant funding
  Emergent Ventures provides project-specific, non-dilutive financial support; grant amounts vary and are not published.
• 🏛️ Fellowship residency
  Projects may be supported as fellowships involving time in residence at the Mercatus Center in Northern Virginia, or as one-time or slightly staggered grants.
• 🚫No equity or repayment
  Emergent Ventures does not take equity and there is no repayment obligation.
• 🌐Alumni network
  Recipients may access a growing alumni network of ambitious builders and thinkers.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must be at least 13 years of age.
• Applications are encouraged from all parts of the world.
• Individuals, teams, co-founders, companies and organizations may apply.

Participation Commitments

• Submit the application through the official Mercatus Center portal.
• Submit a proposal of no more than 1,500 words covering your personal background and its relation to the project; one mainstream or consensus view you agree with; and your idea, the problem it addresses and what is new or unusual.
• For teams, co-founders, companies or organizations, assign one person as the point of contact and list the additional members’ names and emails at the end of the proposal.
• Do not use AI-generated text in the application except for proofreading.
• If funded, provide a brief report, typically 1–2 pages about a year later, and possibly future reports.

Target Sector

Sector agnostic, Agriculture & Food, Defense & Security, Education, Energy & Utilities, Financial Services, Government & Public Sector, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Media & Entertainment, Real Estate & Construction, Retail & Consumer, Semiconductors & Electronics, Sports & Fitness, Telecommunications, Transportation & Logistics, Travel & Hospitality, Other

Target Location

Emergent Ventures encourages applications from all parts of the world.