Arab Center for Research (North and East Africa)
The Arab Center for Research (ACR) envisions a network of youth leaders who will champion market‐oriented reforms across North and East Africa. The Center’s long-term strategy has focused on shaping policy and institutional reform, cultivating a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, and strengthening civil society.
To advance this vision, the organization plans to launch a Free Market Policy Bootcamp in five universities, with the goal of eventually expanding to fifteen institutions across the Arab world. The bootcamp will teach students free-market principles and public policy design, expose them to global ideas adapted to local realities, and foster a regional network of reformers. The initiative also responds to a unique demographic window: more than 60 percent of the Arab world’s population is under 30, and many young people are frustrated with state-centric economic models. By partnering with universities and connecting the region’s tech-savvy youth, ACR hopes to bridge the gap between ideas and action.
Additional Smart Bets funding would allow ACR to move beyond its established programs and pilot the Free Market Policy Bootcamp at scale—supporting curriculum development, building university partnerships, implementing the program across campuses, and conducting monitoring and evaluation to ensure lasting impact.
Bendukidze Free Market Center (Ukraine)
Ukraine’s Bendukidze Free Market Center (BFMC) is already a leader in economic education, having reached over 100,000 schoolchildren and trained hundreds of teachers. Its digital transformation plan seeks to extend this impact across Ukraine and beyond. Bendukidze’s north stars include providing radical access to quality economic and civic education, creating empowered and equipped educators, fostering a culture of economic and civic thinking, and ensuring scalable, sustainable innovation. Over the next two years, the center plans to fundraise for expansion, digitize its Economics Olympiad dataset, and develop an online teacher‑training and co‑creation platform. The platform will allow educators to share and peer‑review content, while additional investments will help scale the Economics Olympiad and third‑party educational initiatives. The Bendukidze Free Market Center hopes Smart Bets funding will accelerate its digital rollout and facilitate cross‑border collaboration.
Preneur Lab Youth & Innovation Trust (Bangladesh)
Preneur Lab has built its reputation through StartKoro, a flagship program that blends business incubation, policy reform advocacy, a multilingual knowledge hub, and a “Business for Good” campaign. Over the past five years, StartKoro has trained more than 900 young people across Bangladesh, including women and rural youth, many of whom have launched startups and influenced public policy ideas. Alumni have gained international recognition, from a climate-tech venture winning a global sustainability award to a B2B marketplace transforming factory operations and a team accepted into Huawei’s incubator.
Looking ahead, Preneur Lab aims to equip 10,000 youth with leadership skills by 2030 and to influence at least ten legislative or administrative reforms by 2028. In the next two years, they plan to expand Business Boost Bangladesh, launch StartKoro Hub, host national policy hackathons and Smart Policy Reform Labs, and roll out StartUp @ School to bring entrepreneurship training to teenagers in rural and low-income communities. With additional Smart Bets funding, Preneur Lab could scale StartKoro through new hubs and school-based initiatives, expand its policy labs, and strengthen its advocacy for reforms such as multi-year licenses and one-stop digital registration, helping transform the spirit of July 2024 into lasting civic and economic change
LIBERA Bolivia (Bolivia)
After two decades of socialism, many young Bolivians feel disconnected from economic opportunity. LIBERA Bolivia aims to change that by serving as a training ground for leaders who will transform the country into a free and prosperous society. The group’s Leadership Incubator Program, Center for Legal Studies, and Austrian Economics Program cultivate a pipeline of freedom champions. Over the next two years, LIBERA plans to train at least 200 more youth across Bolivia, publish the country’s first independent Consumer Price Index, continue research on the Bureaucracy Index, and launch a documentary series “Sabemos Vender Bien”, showcasing Aymara merchants as examples of freedom and social mobility. The organization will also expand its legal support for legislators and partner with Radio Panamericana to amplify pro‑freedom narratives. Additional funding would help scale its training programs, produce the documentary series, and formalize a fundraising network among the Bolivian diaspora.
The Future of Free Speech (United States)
The Future of Free Speech envisions a world where everyone’s right to freedom of expression is protected by law and embraced by culture. The organization’s multi‑year plan revolves around four strategic priorities: advancing a free‑speech culture through communications and partnerships, shaping law and policy via legal analysis and model legislation, building institutional sustainability, and investing in operational excellence. To implement these goals, it is launching the First Freedoms Initiative, which includes legal advocacy (amicus briefs and expert commentary), model legislation, public education campaigns, and coalition‑building. In 2025, the initiative will focus on early legal engagement; by 2026 it will expand public outreach and host national convenings; and by 2027 it aims to institutionalize its work through impact evaluation, a free‑speech policy playbook, and an annual legal‑tracking tool. Support from Smart Bets would allow the project to scale legal advocacy, produce youth‑focused educational content, and strengthen the organization’s internal infrastructure.
Why These Competitors Matter
The diversity of these proposals illustrates how freedom champions are tackling region‑specific challenges with creativity and ambition. By spotlighting these ideas, Smart Bets ensures that the most promising innovations receive the support they need to scale and succeed.
Join Us in New York
You don’t have to wait for a press release to know who wins.
Atlas Network supporters and partners are invited to see these visionary competitors take the stage at the Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner 2025 in New York City on November 12–13, 2025. By attending in person, you’ll witness the passion and ingenuity behind each pitch, celebrate their achievements, and connect with other champions of liberty. We hope you’ll join us to cheer on the finalists and help shape the future of freedom.
