Call for Kellogg-Morgan Sustainable Investing Challenge 2025 is open now!!!
The Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge invites teams of graduate students from around the world to develop and pitch creative financial approaches to tackle pressing social and environmental challenges. There are many competitions that focus on social entrepreneurship or early-stage investments. The Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge is different in that it focuses on scalable solutions created by finance. The Sustainable Investing Challenge asks you to consider finance and investment tools as a means to create impact on their own, and is one of the few ways for students to gain experience and get feedback crafting real proposals that fit into this critical and growing field.
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Participants are tasked with developing a formal Prospectus—a sophisticated proposal detailing a novel financial instrument. This could range from innovative green bonds and specialized public or private equity funds to complex blended finance mechanisms designed to tackle issues like climate change adaptation, clean energy access, sustainable agriculture, or affordable housing. The expectation is that the proposed solutions are ready for serious investor consideration, merging the rigor of Wall Street finance with the purpose of global development.
The competition is a year-long journey that begins with initial registration and a Kick-Off Webinar in the fall. The subsequent phases involve intensive development, supported by Master Class lectures from leading academic figures in finance and an invaluable mentorship program. These resources are designed to equip students with the nuanced expertise required to blend financial engineering with impact measurement.
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The competition culminates in the selection of a group of elite finalists. These top teams earn the opportunity to travel to the Finals Event, typically held in London, UK, at the European Headquarters of Morgan Stanley. Here, they face a high-stakes pitch, presenting their refined proposals to a panel of distinguished judges comprised of senior executives, industry leaders, and institutional investors. The exposure gained during this final event is unparalleled, placing the students directly in front of the people who are actively shaping the future of sustainable finance.
Since its inception, the challenge has proven its ability to identify and cultivate genuine talent. In 2025 alone, the competition saw participation from over 545 students representing 65 countries and 89 academic institutions, all proposing novel instruments aimed at driving positive impact. More importantly, the challenge serves as an incubator for real-world ventures; several past winning and finalist proposals have successfully been launched as real funds and companies, demonstrating the competition’s tangible impact on the industry.
By fostering a dynamic ecosystem where academia meets institutional finance, the Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge fundamentally challenges graduate students to move beyond classroom theory and become active architects of a more sustainable and equitable global economy. The competition is not just about winning; it’s about pioneering the investment strategies that will govern future decades.
Location:
OnlineBenefits
- Winning teams are awarded substantial cash prizes to recognize their innovative financial proposals.
- Grand Prize: $10,000 USD
- Runner-Up Prize: $5,000 USD
- Third Place Prize: $2,500 USD
- Finalist teams receive complimentary flights and accommodation to travel to the Finals Event in London, UK, where they pitch their proposal to executive judges.
- Teams are assigned experienced mentors in sustainable investing to provide personalized guidance and constructive feedback on their investment vehicle structure and financial prospectus.
- Access to a Master Class Lecture Series taught by renowned professors in impact finance, covering topics like advanced financial modeling, impact measurement, and sustainable investing strategy.
- An opportunity to create a scalable, institutional-quality investment vehicle designed to drive both competitive financial returns and measurable social or environmental impact, providing valuable, hands-on experience in the field.
Eligibilities
- Teams are limited to a maximum of four (4) members.
- All team members must be currently enrolled in a graduate program at the time of the prospectus submission. Undergraduate students are not eligible.
- Your team may include members from different graduate schools.
- All ideas must be the original ideas of the team members.
Application Process
- Create a team of graduate students (maximum of four members) who are all currently enrolled in a graduate degree program. Team members can be from different universities or programs.
- Visit the official challenge website and submit the online registration form by the deadline.
- Determine an urgent social or environmental problem and develop a creative, institutional-quality financial instrument (your proposed investment vehicle) to address it.
- Write a detailed formal proposal (the Prospectus) that outlines your investment solution, including the problem, the financial structure, target market, expected returns, impact metrics, and team biographies.
- Upload the completed Prospectus document through the official competition portal.
- A panel of judges reviews all submissions to select the top teams. If selected as a Finalist (announced March 16, 2026), prepare a detailed presentation and travel to the Finals Event in London, UK on April 24, 2026, to pitch your proposal to executive judges.
Application Deadline: January 26, 2026 (15 Days Remaining)
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