DHL GoTrade GBSN Fellowship Program 2026 for Postgraduate Business Students & SMEs

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Applications are open for DHL GoTrade GBSN Fellowship Program 2026. In furtherance of our goal to connect business students from around the world through impactful, experiential learning opportunities, GBSN has partnered with one of its corporate members DPDHL to develop the GoTrade GBSN Fellowship Program.

This Fellowship Program partners selected postgraduate business students with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the developing world to foster greater cross-border trade. The aim is to enable SMEs to access the global market and to enhance student development with practical learning opportunities.

DHL GoTrade GBSN Fellowship 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

2026 SME COUNTRIES: South Africa, Namibia, Ghana, Kenya, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Chile, El Salvador, Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, Malaysia, Nigeria, Uganda.

Student Eligibility Criteria

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

Enrolled at a participating GBSN member school at the start fellowship
Commitment to complete 8 month fellowship program starting March 2025
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
Ability to commit to an estimated 12 to 15 hours per month
Proven work experience
Strong analytical skills
Entrepreneurial and proactive mindset
Interest in an international community

How To Apply for DHL GoTrade GBSN Fellowship

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).

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Application Deadline: November 1, 2025.