One Young World

What One Young World does

One Young World is a London-headquartered charity (One Young World Limited, registered in England and Wales; charity no. 1147298) founded in 2009 by David Jones and Kate Robertson, with a regional presence in New York. Its core offering is the annual One Young World Summit, a four-day, multi-venue convening of young leaders aged 18–35, scheduled for Cape Town on November 3–6, 2026. The Summit and its ancillary programming — the One Young World Academy, the Action Accelerator mentorship program, the Impact Tracker, One Young World Studios, the Ambassador Community platform, and the Leadership Networks — form a year-round engagement layer built on top of a Digital Summit platform with virtual attendance, live streaming, a mobile Ambassador app, and accessibility features (International Sign interpretation, live captioning, wheelchair-accessible venues). The organization reports 20,000+ Ambassadors across 190+ countries, with Ambassador-led projects having reached 58.57 million people and a self-disclosed social return on investment of $16 per $1 invested.

Revenue is generated through four streams: one-time Summit ticket sales (priced £1,740–£3,850 per delegate across accommodation tiers for first-time and returning delegates, plus Partner Executive packages), recurring corporate and university partnerships, philanthropic grants (Virgin Unite, Z Zurich Foundation, BMO, Deloitte, Audi Environmental Foundation, Brandtech Group, USAID and others), and thematic scholarship programmes (Leading Scholarship, Brandtech AI for Good Scholarship, The NewNow, Indigenous-focused cohorts). Customer segments span young leader delegates, corporate partners, universities, governments, and foundations; the 2024 cycle alone disbursed 554 scholarships from 74,847 applications, with 163,000 applications received over three years. The organization is independently governed, holds a UK trading subsidiary (One Young World UK Trading Limited), and operates ISO 20121-certified event sustainability management across its Summits.

Name

One Young World

Legal name

One Young World Limited

Website

https://oneyoungworld.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Leadership Development

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Educational Support Services (611710), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Training, Enablement & Talent Development Summits (THAHAMAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Executive Leadership Summits (C-Suite, Board, Strategy Offsites) (THAHAMAA), International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Foundation/NGO & Philanthropic Scholarships (EDAIAOAH), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Summit Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from selling delegate tickets to the annual One Young World Summit. Tickets are sold at different price points with or without accommodation, for first-time delegates and returning Ambassadors, as well as Partner Executive packages for senior leaders attending with delegations.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with businesses who sponsor scholarships, send delegations, and gain access to the One Young World network of young leaders. Partners include corporations across various sectors who fund scholarship programs and gain visibility at the Summit.
3. University Partnerships: Collaborations with universities that send delegations, host regional forums, and partner on programming. Universities sponsor students and gain access to the global leadership network.
4. Foundation and Philanthropy Funding: Funding from foundations and philanthropies to support scholarship programs for young leaders from underrepresented regions. Organizations like Virgin Unite, Z Zurich Foundation, and others fund specific scholarship cohorts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

One Young World operates an annual global Summit convening exceptional young leaders (ages 18-35) from 190+ countries alongside scholarship, mentorship, and Academy programming. It delivers the Summit and a year-round Ambassador Community platform, funded through individual delegate tickets and corporate, university, government, and foundation partnerships. The organization distributes fully-funded scholarships to ensure representation from underrepresented regions and tracks social impact via the Impact Tracker platform.

Product overview

One Young World operates as a platform-plus-programmes organization offering its flagship annual Summit as the core product, supplemented by year-round programmes including the Academy (learning), Action Accelerator (mentorship), Impact Tracker (measurement), and Ambassador Community (networking). The organization distributes various scholarship programmes including the flagship Leading Scholarship and specialized programmes like Brandtech Group AI for Good Scholarship and The NewNow. Additional offerings include Awards, Leadership Networks, Funding mechanisms, Knowledge Hub resources, Studios content production, and Events and Opportunities for the global community of 20,000+ Ambassadors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Leading Scholarship: One Young World's flagship scholarship ensuring remarkable young leaders from every country can attend the annual Summit.
• The NewNow
• One Young World Studios
• Action Accelerator
• One Young World Awards

Products and services

• One Young World Summit Annual global Summit uniting selected young leaders from 190+ countries and 250+ organisations for keynote sessions, panel discussions, workshops, networking events, and Action Circles. For current and aspiring young leaders and the corporate, university, and government delegations that sponsor them.
• Leading Scholarship Flagship scholarship programme ensuring remarkable young leaders from every country can attend the annual Summit, covering travel, accommodation, and meals based on proven leadership and ability to create change.
• One Young World Academy

Quantifiable outcome

• 58.57 million people positively impacted by Ambassador-led projects since 2010
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• BMOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 May 2026BMO and One Young World co-launched the Generation Regen Challenge, a joint initiative to accelerate regenerative and sustainable agriculture across Canada and the United States. Two organizations were named Challenge Winners (The Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture and Green Mechanics), each receiving grants, with four additional finalists also receiving funding. All winners and finalists receive scholarships to attend the One Young World Summit in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Virgin UnitecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 November 2025Virgin Unite supports The NewNow, a One Young World program empowering boldest emerging young leaders to redefine change through systems-thinking and collective action. The program selects ten trailblazing leaders from the Global South for scholarship places at the Summit, with ongoing capacity building workshops and community membership.
• The Brandtech GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025The Brandtech Group, the world's #1 digital-only marketing group and leading generative AI marketing group, partners with One Young World for the Brandtech Group AI for Good Scholarship. Five young African leaders with demonstrated AI solutions for sustainable and responsible AI use receive full scholarships to attend the Summit, plus access to Pencil AI platform and the Brandtech AI for Good Alumni network.
• Assembly of First NationssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of several Indigenous organizations partnered with One Young World to support Indigenous young leaders worldwide through scholarship opportunities, allowing access to leadership opportunities and developing wider Indigenous networks.
• Fondation Nouveaux SentierssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFondation Nouveaux Sentiers partners with One Young World to support Indigenous young leaders through scholarship opportunities.
• KokorosupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerKokoro partners with One Young World to support Indigenous young leaders worldwide through scholarship opportunities and network development.
• Ilia Calderón FoundationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIlia Calderón Foundation partners with One Young World to support Indigenous young leaders from around the world through scholarship opportunities.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• The Diana Award: A UK-based charity recognizing and developing young changemakers through awards and programs — comparable in mission and youth-leadership focus, with overlap in Ambassador alumni recognition, but a smaller, more UK-centric scale than One Young World.
• Echoing Green: A fellowship and leadership community identifying and supporting emerging social-impact leaders — comparable in mission focus on young changemakers and in running fellowship-style programming, though operating at a smaller scale than One Young World.
• Hult Prize: A global student-led social entrepreneurship competition and accelerator culminating in a Summit for finalists — comparable in targeting young changemakers and combining a global Summit with year-round programming, though narrower in focus (social enterprise) than One Young World.

Broad incumbents

• TED: A global media and events platform convening thinkers and changemakers through flagship Summits, fellowships, and content — comparable in convening model, idea-driven Summit format, and global brand, though oriented to ideas/content distribution rather than a youth-mission cohort.
• Ashoka: A larger, established social-entrepreneurship network supporting young changemakers through fellowships and programming — comparable as a broader platform investing in young leaders but with a stronger fellowship/funding orientation and longer history than One Young World.
• Clinton Global Initiative: A high-profile convening organization that brings together leaders across sectors to drive commitments on global issues — comparable in convening power, multi-stakeholder model, and brand-driven Summit format, though broader in scope and audience than One Young World.
• Aspen Institute: A leadership-focused convening organization running Summits, fellowships, and policy forums for established and emerging leaders — comparable in convening model and leadership-development orientation, though oriented to more senior/established leaders.

Direct peers

• AIESEC: A global youth-led organization running leadership development programs, international exchanges, and conferences for students and recent graduates — a direct peer in targeting young leaders with cross-border, conference-driven programming.
• World Economic Forum – Global Shapers Community: An initiative of the World Economic Forum that convenes young leaders (typically under 30) in a global, city-based hub network with year-round programming, leadership development, and Summit-style gatherings — directly comparable in mission, audience, and convening model to One Young World.

Others

• Skoll Foundation: A grantmaking foundation funding social entrepreneurs — adjacent to One Young World's scholarship and Ambassador funding function, particularly comparable in supporting impact-driven leaders, but operating through grants rather than a Summit/convening model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/oneyoungworld
• Facebookfacebook.com/OneYoungWorld
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/one-young-world
• Instagraminstagram.com/oneyoungworld
• Xx.com/OneYoungWorld

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

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Frequently asked questions about One Young World