Alterna Fellows may be based in Guatemala City or Quetzaltenango (Xela). The fellow may be requested to travel to different regions of Guatemala for different projects.

Yes. The level of Spanish, whether intermediate, advanced or native, will define the area and type of involvement of the fellow within the program.

Upon being accepted as a Fellow, Alterna will support logistics coordination to settle in the country. Arrival, training and orientation will be coordinated before and during the experience.

Although Latin America has one of the highest rates of entrepreneurship, most regional companies are born more from necessity than from innovation and opportunity. In addition, the role of businessmen is increasingly important to promote positive changes. The local impact ecosystem is relatively young, but fast moving, compared to other regions around the world. There’s a growing network of influential impact companies and an investment culture for small businesses in early growth stages. These characteristics, which converge in Guatemala, make the region an ideal platform to generate and experiment with innovative solutions that can be applied around the world.

The Alterna Fellowship Program is a vehicle to accelerate professional careers in the impact sector. By joining Alterna, Fellows will gain unparalleled exposure to initiatives that are breaking boundaries and defining the business and impact investing sector in a rapidly developing region. The program gives Fellows a powerful professional boost in their career path, through:

• Joining the pioneer organization of the impact sector in the region.
• Developing a range of professional skills, generating impact through strategic projects that are key to the organization and the improvement of the sector.
• Gaining real-world experience in a developing context and impact ecosystem in Latin America, providing first-hand insights into systemic complexities and best practices in social innovation.

At Alterna we are committed to the professional development of each of our Fellows. We invest in training and mentoring to ensure they are constantly developing and strengthening their skills and knowledge. Although the Fellowship itself is not a precursor to paid employment at Alterna, we always look to the best talent in our Fellowship pool as our primary source when recruiting for long-term paid positions.

Alterna Fellows pursue career paths in various fields after the program, from the business and impact investing sector, the public and private sectors, to building their own companies. Currently, there are fellows alumni working in institutions such as UNICEF, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, McKinsey & Co., PWC, Etsy, the United Nations, General Motors, Danone, Acumen, and local impact companies, among others.

Yes! At the end of the program Fellows are invited to join the Alumni Network, a diverse community of more than 130 change catalyzers. Alumni are encouraged to connect and support one another by regularly sharing job opportunities, events, programs, news, and more. The alumni network offers significant opportunities to develop professional connections and friendships.