Fellowship Program Frequently Asked Questions

The Interledger Fellowship Program was established to inspire various actors and communities worldwide to engage with the Interledger Foundation's (ILF) vision of creating a more equitable, creative, digital, and inclusive global society. The Fellowship Program seeks qualified individuals who operate at the intersection and are willing to leverage their expertise, skills, interests, values, and networks to research new pathways, advance standards, develop and implement open-source technologies, activate communities, promote accessibility, and envision artistic products. The Fellow's endeavors will expand our ecosystem, reduce disparities, and fortify collective impact. 

The Interledger Foundation aims to activate individuals focused on building a more equitable society. With the Fellowship grant, we ask applicants to submit their intended proposal to advance thought leadership, development, and engagement with communities that can benefit from and connect to an interoperable global payments network. Fellows are expected to draw on their expertise in open-source technology, digital finance, education, research, journalism, advocacy, and governance.

• Develop and implement their intended scope of work in alignment with the Interledger Foundation theory of change.
• Represent the Interledger Foundation within the wider ecosystem and in correspondence with the fellows' own fields of expertise. 
• We expect our awardees to be in attendance and to comply with the participation guidelines
• Attend/Participate in Interledger Foundation-organized events in your locale, such as weekly check-ins, community calls, and conferences.
• Openly share their discoveries by writing blog posts in the Community Forum and presenting their findings during the Interledger Foundation community engagements, and 
• Meet regularly with the program team to discuss their progress, developments, and any regressions/ hurdles.

This program is designed to encourage thought leaders to leverage their expertise and influence in their respective fields, demonstrating their track record and prior experience. We expect the applicants to support the Interledger Foundation's stewardship of technology and advancement of open payment standards. At the same time, the submitted proposals should align with the prioritization of advancing digital financial inclusion and advocacy for underrepresented groups. 

We invite a diverse range of professionals to apply for the Interledger Fellowship Program. When considering your application, reflect on how your unique expertise, skills, interests, values, and networks can contribute to advancing digital financial access. Our ideal candidates include, but are not limited to, researchers, developers, open-source contributors, entrepreneurs, educators, policy regulators, open-innovation/open-standards/fintech enthusiasts, digital and financial rights advocates, creators, and artists.

The Interledger Foundation Fellowship Program is a pilot initiative that builds upon the success of the preceding Interledger Ambassadorship program. Our ongoing areas of interest: open-source technology, community engagement, advocacy, accessibility, education, and research, will remain central to the Fellowship. This initiative is designed to advance digital financial access and aligns with our global strategy for change.

For more information about the previous grant program, the Interledger Ambassadorship program, please visit: https://interledger.org/grant/ambassadors

The Fellowship Program requires a minimum commitment of 32 hours per week (0.8 Full-Time Equivalent, or FTE). We recognize that Fellows often have various responsibilities, and working hours and schedules may be flexible, depending on the specifics of their individual proposal.

The Fellowship Program offers a total of USD 92,000 per grant cycle, comprising a USD 72,000 grant and a USD 20,000 working budget (expensed activities will be released upon approval). 

Applicants to the Fellowship Program should be experts in their field and able to demonstrate their track record and previous experience. We expect applicants to be dedicated to the field they are applying to and to aim to continue in that field after their Fellowship ends.

All eligible applicants must;

• Support ILF's compliance with relevant U.S. laws, rules, and regulations.
  • We are unable to award proposals in countries sanctioned by the US government. 
• Have no conflicts of interest.
• Meet due diligence requirements. 
  • All applicants need to provide their full legal name.
  • All Applicants must be 18 years of age or older when applying for the Fellowship grant. 
  • Not all applicants are eligible to participate in another grant cycle offered by the Interledger Foundation. 
  • All applicants must agree to the participation guidelines.
• Have a bank account in the applicant's legal name.

While a university degree or other certification is not mandatory for the Fellowship Program, the Interledger Foundation requires applicants to submit evidence of professional experience directly related to their submitted proposal.

The Fellowship is a global program, and the Interledger Foundation expects the applicant to have work authorization within the country of their residency or in the country where they will carry out their Fellowship. We are unable to award proposals in countries sanctioned by the US government.

The Interledger Foundation is an international organization overseeing a diverse ecosystem. When interacting with people from various cultures and languages, we primarily use English to ensure mutual understanding. However, this does not imply that we expect our applicants to be fluent in English. We review proposals based on their strengths rather than the applicant's language proficiency.

You can apply for the Fellowship Program if you are 18 years or older.  

While we do not have an archive of past Interledger Foundation Fellowship applications, we encourage you to review the work of our Alumni Interledger Ambassadors, as their program was the precursor to the Fellowship. You can find information about them and their updates on the Community Forum. Reviewing their experiences can provide inspiration and direction for your own project plan. However, please ensure your application is original and not a duplication of previously submitted proposals.

https://interledger.org/grant/ambassadors

Previous Ambassador updates can be found on the Community Forum at:

https://community.interledger.org/t/ilfambassadorreport/latest.

We do not review concept applications to ensure equal opportunities for all our applicants. However, specific questions about the procedure, budget, or project plan can be sent to grants@interledger.org.

The Fellowship is not meant to seed-fund your platform or other idea. 

All proposals for the Fellowship program must be submitted through our online platform, Submittable The Interledger Foundation does not accept applications submitted by any other means.

After registering an account, you can view the Interledger Foundation's open grant opportunities. In this list, you can find the 2026 Interledger Fellowship Program.

For help with the Submittable platform or any other assistance, please consult the applicant help hub. 

The proposals are reviewed based on the applicant's experience, motivation, strategic relevance, impact, and technical merit. The objective of the submitted proposals should be to advance digital financial inclusion and open standards. 

Before submitting your proposal, please remember that all proposals must be eligible for review. 

• All applications need to be submitted through our application platform, Submittable.
• The submitted application must be complete; our commission will not review incomplete applications. 

Your application must be submitted in English. However, applicants are not judged on the quality of the language but on the strength of the submitted proposal. 

The program team conducts a preliminary review to ensure all the requisite documentation is submitted. At this stage, the program team may contact the applicant to address any concerns that arise from the initial review. In this phase, the program team may also cull any submission it believes does not align with the Fellowship grant's tenets. 

A selected cohort of judges from a recommended pool will thoroughly review the submissions and recommend whether they are ready for funding. To learn more about the Judge's review, please continue to the review committee section in the Fellowship Grant Guidebook.

While past awardees are welcome to apply, re-engagement is not guaranteed. We prioritize expanding the diversity of perspectives among our awardees and, consequently, focus on engaging new applicants. Please note: you are ineligible to apply if you currently hold an open grant with the Foundation.