The Digital Residency™ Fund is a ten-year, ten-million-dollar institution-building commitment supporting a private global fellowship, ongoing peer-reviewed research on cross-border entrepreneurship, and technology built to serve Fellows across borders.
Establishing shared standards across geographies and time zones. Fellows meet one another and the framework.
Full-cohort working sessions, including guest voices from the founder's federal, academic, and international networks.
Confidential conversations between each Fellow and the founder, held quarterly across the year.
Two or more in-person Convenings each year, with Detroit as the anchor and additional cities seated based on Fellowship composition.
An ongoing structure through which Fellows extend market access, referrals, and partnership opportunities to one another throughout the year.
Once admitted, always a Fellow. Alumni retain access to the global network and select Residency events across cities and years.
The next decade will be defined by leaders who can move capital, ideas, and trust across borders under conditions of regulatory complexity. Existing leadership programs address parts of this landscape, but none combine a private cross-border fellowship, ongoing peer-reviewed research, and dedicated transaction infrastructure in a single, durable institution. The Digital Residency™ is being built to fill that gap.
The Fund is structured as an institution-building instrument, not a project grant. Its purpose is to build the institutional infrastructure of the Digital Residency™ across its first decade while ongoing partnerships raise additional capital and the technology platform matures toward long-term self-sustainability.
Full development of the TTT-anchored transaction platform. Architecture, engineering, product, security, and compliance.
Annual Fellowship operations, virtual infrastructure, in-person Convenings across cities, hospitality, and Fellow experience.
Ongoing scholarly research on the TTT framework in emerging markets. Research fellows, field studies, journal publications.
Full and partial admission scholarships for high-strategic-value Fellows from underserved and emerging-economy contexts.
Endowment-style reserve protecting continuity, enabling counter-cyclical operation, and building toward long-term self-sustainability.
An institutional letter of support recognizing the Digital Residency™ as aligned with the partner's strategic mission. Endorsements legitimize the Residency to prospective Fellows and future partners.
Relevant for: UN ECA · State Department ECA · Department of Commerce · Global Ties · Academic institutions
Joint programming on specific Convenings, thematic panels, published research, or applied projects. Partners bring their own convening power and expertise directly into the Residency.
Relevant for: UN ECA · State Department Speaker Program · Global Ties · Academic institutions
Direct financial contribution to the $10 million Digital Residency™ Fund. Founding contributions may be multi-year, earmarked to specific categories, and recognized in perpetuity as founding partner designations.
Relevant for: Corporate philanthropy · Foundations · Federal grant programs · Multilateral development partners · Philanthropists
Partnership on hosting in-person Convenings across the world. Host partners provide venues, local programming, hospitality, or diplomatic support to enable Fellows to gather in specific international contexts.
Relevant for: U.S. Embassies · American Corners · Chambers of Commerce · Innovation hubs · Development banks · Cultural institutions
The Digital Residency's distinct contribution is combining private global fellowship, original scholarship, and purpose-built technology in a single institution.
| DIMENSION | DIGITAL RESIDENCY | YALI / MANDELA WASHINGTON | ASPEN / HENRY CROWN | EISENHOWER FELLOWSHIPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fellow Profile | Established founders and senior leaders across sectors | Emerging African leaders under 35 | Mid-career American executives | Mid-career international leaders |
| Geographic Model | Cross-border, multi-city per year | US-based fellowship | Single-region cohorts | Individual travel program |
| Duration | Full year plus alumni continuation | 6 weeks intensive | 2 years | 4-8 weeks abroad |
| Cross-Border Reciprocity | Founding condition of admission | Not structured | Not structured | One-directional |
| Scholarly Grounding | TTT framework, peer-reviewed research | Curriculum-based | Great books, moderated dialogue | Individual research inquiry |
| Technology Infrastructure | Purpose-built for cross-border transactions | None dedicated | None dedicated | None dedicated |
Initial conversations are exploratory and carry no expectation of commitment. Institutional partners are welcome to bring colleagues, counsel, or program officers into subsequent conversations.
A scholar-practitioner global advisory where alignment becomes transformative action, at home and across borders.
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