beVisioneers: The Mercedes-Benz Fellowship.

To raise the seed capital for this program, Mercedes-Benz auctioned off the most valuable car in history in May 2022, an SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe from 1955, which went for the record sum of 135 million euros.

The non-profit organization The DO School Fellowships developed the concept for beVisioneers and is also responsible for the implementation. beVisioneers is aimed at creative, committed people between 16 and 28 years of age, who have promising ideas for projects in the areas of environmental protection and decarbonization. The participants are selected by The DO School and come from different countries and walks of life.

In the pilot year 2023, the program was initially accessible to young people from India, South Africa and a number of European countries. More than a thousand applications were submitted between January and March, from which The DO School Fellowships selected the first 102 participants. The program provided the fellows with access to project financing and – if required – further financial or material support. However, at the heart of the program is a broad-based learning and coaching curriculum, which focuses on leadership, entrepreneurship and sustainability. The fellows are also provided with a personal mentor during the twelve-month hybrid learning phase. Mercedes-Benz has encouraged all interested employees to become involved as mentors in beVisioneers or similar initiatives.

beVisioneers is to grow and in 2025 already support one thousand fellows from all over the world who have sustainable project ideas. Mercedes-Benz sponsors beVisioneers because the program promotes ecological sustainability and social cohesion through education – and in this way reflects key elements of the corporate citizenship strategy. In addition, Mercedes-Benz is the title sponsor in order to underscore its lasting commitment to the success of this program.