“We envision a future where every young person achieves their full potential and contributes to building thriving communities.”
(Cover): Florencio Vente, a 2021 Aspire Leaders Program alumnus from Colombia, has been a dedicated advocate for youth and minorities from a young age. At just 12 years old, he played a pivotal role in an organization called Afroamigos and advocated for Colombia’s first law against discrimination.
When a life-changing opportunity brought Vente to Brazil, he witnessed firsthand the disparities faced by migrants there. His experiences sparked a passion for supporting others dealing with these challenges, and he founded a cultural exchange club for migrants and refugees. As a result, Vente shifted into policy work and eventually became the first migrant to be appointed to the youth council of his city.
Vente cites the Aspire Leaders Program’s emphasis on accessibility and diverse pathways for change as a source of inspiration to prioritize inclusivity in his future endeavors. Now a co-director of the Migration Youth and Children Platform, Vente continues to champion youth voices and inclusivity on a global scale.
2024 Prospectus
Learn about Aspire Institute in the pages to follow.
Meena speaking about the Aspire Leaders Program with college youth in 2023 in São Paulo, Brazil.
the Aspire
worldwide challenge the
“Youth
are the future of the world’s economic health and prosperity. Investing in local youth globally is an investment in their communities and the future of all of us.”
Meena
- CEO, Aspire Institute
First-generation college students continue to lack the networks and resources to fully realize their potential and achieve economic mobility.
United States
54% of undergraduate students self-identified as the first in their family to attend college or university and predominantly came from low-income and historically marginalized backgrounds.
In the U.S., only 20% of first-generation students have completed a degree compared to 49% of their continuinggeneration peers or those with at least one parent with a bachelor’s degree or higher educational attainment.
Globally
73% of first-generation students worldwide do not graduate from college, unlike 15% of students with at least one parent with a bachelor’s degree or higher educational attainment.
Worldwide, only 44% of first-generation students were employed one year after graduation.
Sonea
Pictured far right: Faith Nchotu Ndinyanka, ALP ‘21, CAA ‘21, Cameroon.
2024 Alumni Event, Istanbul Turkey.
2024 Alumni Event in Lahore.
Institute
Since 2017, Aspire Institute has empowered first-generation college students and recent graduates (18-29) from low-income situations to become community leaders.
Aspire Institute’s scalable, tuition-free virtual leadership development program is designed and delivered by Faculty from Harvard Business School and other world-class institutions. Live masterclasses with world-class faculty.
Opportunities for global connections and peer-to-peer learning. Masterclasses
Development of critical soft skills for academic and professional success. Ongoing mentorship and continuous learning. Career readiness programs that promote economic mobility.
Karim Lakhani, Harvard Business School Professor and Co-Founder of Aspire Institute, visiting alumni in São Paulo, Brazil at his Digital Transformation and AI event.
Aspire what does Free Aspire Leaders Program
“I met a lot of people with the same kind of mindset as me. Young people are willing to grow and learn and contribute something to society. It was a great community.”
Rohit Khushwa ‘23, India
Impact our is global
The impact was measured by comparing participants’ pre-test and post-test scores using a 1-5 Likert scale. Improvement was noted when a participant’s score increased in at least one question related to key growth areas after the program (post-test). If all responses in a category remained the same before and after the program, the result was classified as “no change.”
Application & Registration
18-29 years old
Low-income
First-generation college student or recent graduate
Course Begins
Personal & Professional Development
Strengths-based leadership assessment
Global peer interactions Professional development workshops
Includes a Broad Scope of Masterclasses
Masterclasses broaden their horizons on a diverse range of topics from art & architecture to science from educators worldwide and gather global perspectives from their peers.
Improved Communication & Understanding
Logos
According to the pre and post-test data, 74.9% of participants demonstrated improved communication skills. Additionally, 75.8% showed a greater understanding of their ability to create social impact
Networking with a global network of young leaders, either in-person or online.
Finan for academic and professional advancement through Academic Advancement Funds, Seed Funds, and Community Action Awards. Volunteering with the Aspire Institute and within their local communities.
Increased Self-Confidence, Leadership, and Willingness to Take Risks
The two personal growth dimensions with the highest improvement among participants were self-confidence development (81.5%) and increased propensity for taking calculated risks (78.7%), based on pre-test to post-test responses. Leadership inclination also showed significant positive progress, with 74.5% of participants improving.
Aspire Goals
Observatories:Lookingat theVisibleandInvisible
Sergio Lazzarini Ivey Business School The Right Privatization: Why Private Firms in Public Initiatives Need Capable Governments
Kathryn Gunsch MIT Museum The Power of Framing in the Art of Benin Kingdom
Reza Satchu Harvard Business School Founder Mindset: The Magic of Commitment
“Someone recognizing me as a first-generation student was enduring and emotional to me.”
Global Partners
A diverse ecosystem across all continents includes collaborators in universities, public and private sectors, nonprofits, and Aspire alumni supporting Aspire.
Outreach Partners
Assist students in their local institutions and communities to apply to the Aspire Leaders Program.
Content Partners
Faculty and administrators at HBS assist with designing and delivering the Aspire Leaders Program content.
Technology Partners
Our technology-driven program is supported by a variety of tech partners.
2023 Alumni Meetup, São Paulo, Brazil.
Harvard Professor Ingrid Monson speaking with Alumni in Nairobi.
2023 ALP Masterclass with professor Tarun Khanna.
Melis Berfin Karakas, ALP ’24, interning at Harvard Business Review office, Istanbul, Turkiye
Aspire Global Foundries
Foundries are locally-based hubs that support Aspire to reach the last mile in-country. They are currently located in Delhi, Istanbul, Lahore, and São Paulo.
Foundries also support Aspire alums with: Mentorships
“We must democratize access to opportunities for talent, especially in low-income settings, by building ecosystems that foster innovation and entrepreneurship.”
and Harvard Business School Professor
Aspire Institute Co-Founders Tarun Khanna and Karim Lakhani.
Tarun Khanna - Aspire Institute Co-founder
Scaling
24: 5x growth
195 countries 2024 35 countries 2022
200K+ applicants 50K Aspire Alumni
Growth Across Communications Channels
Over 100,000 Subscribers to Aspire Institute’s Monthly
Newsletter - Open rate of ~ 40%
69,000 followers on LinkedIn
23,000 followers on Instagram
13,800 Subscribers on You Tube
Grants & Awards Between 2022-2024
4,800 Subscribers on Twitter
18,000 followers on Facebook
Applicants by Year
Barsha Tamang, ALP ‘22, Nepal.
Cost per enrollee decreases from $78 in 2022 to $17 in 2024 to $4 in 2027.
Aspire is on track to
2027 reach one million students annually by
Awards and Grants
Top 15 countries for the year
(permanent residence address country):
1. India: 23,911
2. Pakistan: 17,274
3. Nigeria: 13,558
4. Bangladesh: 11,745
5. Egypt: 9,131
6. Turkey: 6,981
7. Ghana: 2,704
8. Brazil: 2,606
9. Kenya: 2,494
10. Jordan: 2,242
11. Ethiopia: 1,446
12. United States: 1,252
13. Peru: 1,065
14. Uganda: 1,020
15. Nepal: 954
“I am a first-generation college student, so I didn’t know many things about being at university. ALP gave me direction. It inspired me to be the best version of me and as a leader. Knowing yourself is so important to identify your passions and objectives.”
Samantha Christina Alvarez Aguirre, ALP ‘24, Ecuador
Barsha Tamang, ALP ‘22, Nepal.
Aspire’s Tech Today Driving Change Through Digital & AI Solutions
Discord Server In one year, we processed 270,000+ applications. More than 200,000 of those were evaluated using maching learning.
Allows for virtual communities to meet up on an online platform. Total messages exchanged between ~40,000 participants in 2024 on Discord by participants from 195 countries.
Over a four-month period, out of the 1012 queries from participants, the Intercom chatbot resolved 65.75% of the queries.
Big 5 Personality Test: Open Source
In module 1, participants take the Big 5 personality test. They receive an immediate assessment that measures their personality along five broad areas: Openess, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.
“By combining human creativity with the power of AI, we can create new pathways for firstgeneration students to lead, innovate, and build a better future for themselves and their communities.”
Karim Lakhani - Co-Founder of Aspire Institute and HBS Professor
Use of Various Devices Among Participants
Mobile-Friendly
Developing a robust Learning Management Platform to increase participant engagement from mobile devices in 195 countries around the world.
Personalized Learning
Adaptive learning paths to meet individual student needs through virtual mentors Students from various backgrounds and learning levels could receive support at their pace, increasing learning outcomes.
Content Creation
AI tools like natural language processing for localization of content into native languages and adaptation to different contexts, cultures, and socioeconomic conditions.
Career Services
Equipping students with AI literacy and skills in emerging technologies will position them to improve their economic mobility by accessing higher-paying and in-demand jobs in technology-driven markets.
Alumni gathering in Istanbul with Professor Can Erbil and Meena Sonea.
“I was left with new aspirations and a global community that continues to inspire me. My cohort represents every nation on earth, and beyond our differences lie similarities.
Becoming an alum has been a call to action to serve communities and nations around the globe and make the world a better place for all.”
Bryan Zapata, USA
fundraising 2025-27
Your Investment in Aspire Will Prepare Youth for Career Readiness
and a Path to Economic Mobility
Building on our Existing Strengths:
Organizational capacity.
Digital platform to maximize global student reach. Impact measurement and evaluation framework.
Local Foundries in Countries:
Establish new Aspire Foundries, or “hubs,” to expand our reach and enhance student engagement.
Peer-to-peer learning, paid internships, and workforce development.
Workforce Opportunities for Participants:
Soft skills-based career readiness program. Internships and job opportunities.
Reliance on angel donors decrease year to year as funding from Aspire’s fee-based program and institutional grants increase.
Connect with
with AspireTeam Up
Tarun Khanna
Aspire Institute Co-founder
Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor, Harvard Business School
Director, Lakshmi Mittal & Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University
Email: Meena@aspireleaders.org Our Leadership
Karim Lakhani
Aspire Institute Co-founder Dorothy & Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School Chair, Digital, Data & Design (D^3) Institute at Harvard University Laboratory for Innovation
Meena Sonea Aspire Institute Chief Executive Officer
Former Executive Director
The Lakshmi Mittal & Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University
