Develop an innovative solution to a problem associated with poverty and pitch for a chance to win up to $20,000 plus an invite to a community of entrepreneurs and investors who’ll help turn your idea into a successful venture.
Acumen, with the support of The Rockefeller Foundation, is equipping student innovators to solve problems associated with poverty through a global challenge platform. Student teams from around the world are coming together to explore areas of opportunity, develop ideas, and pitch for funding and mentorship.
Are you a university student that wants to solve problems that matter? You’re in the right place.
- Learn about social challenges from experts in the field
- Form a team and an idea for solving one of them
- Refine your idea through online courses and Learning Labs
- Pitch your idea for a chance to win funding, mentorship, and support
Challenge Areas:
Today’s issues are too complex to tackle alone. Through our platform, students are forming teams and coming up with solutions to the challenge areas they’ve outlines below:
- Workforce Development
Making decent work and quality education accessible and affordable for people with barriers to employment.
- Financial Inclusion
Reducing poverty through financial products, services, and platforms that build and protect wealth.
- Health
Improving access to and experience of care, and incorporating social determinants of health into a holistic definition of well-being.
- Food and Agriculture
Improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, combating food insecurity, and increasing health and nutrition.
- Energy
Accelerating access to clean, affordable, reliable energy through off-grid solutions.
The Competition Phases:
Phase 1 — All Participants: Register for Lean Startup and Submit Your Idea
- Register for the Lean Startup online course before March 3, 2020.
- Complete the course and submit your social venture idea before April 14, 2020
- Top teams will be invited to join the Student Social Enterprise Accelerator
Phase 2 — Finalists: Student Social Enterprise Accelerator
- Online Student Social Enterprise Accelerator will begin on June 8, 2020
- Develop your idea with one-on-one coaching, peer mentoring, and case studies
- Pitch your social venture to a panel of judges before August 18, 2020
Location:
OnlineBenefits
- Winning teams will receive up to $20,000 from a funding pool of $100,000
- Winners will also be invited to join Acumen’s Community of Social Innovators to receive ongoing support from a network of Acumen Fellows, social entrepreneurs, and change-makers
Eligibilities
- Must be a student enrolled in a higher education institution
- Must form a team of at least two people (at least one member but be a student)
- Complete 4 of the 5 assignments in the Lean Startup course (including the final assignment) and submit an application for the Accelerator program. At least two team members must complete the Lean Startup course.
- Interview for and be selected to participate in the Student Social Enterprise Accelerator program.
- Participate in at least 7 of the 8 Accelerator Learning Labs and submit all assignments, including a final pitch deck. The pitch deck must include a budget for the prize funding and a three-month work plan including key milestones and dates.
- Must not be a student of any of the following Universities:
- Australian Catholic University
- Bethel University
- CETYS Universidad, Campus Tijuana
- Davis College Akilah Campus
- Duke University
- Ewha University-Industry Collaboration Foundation Center for Entrepreneurship
- Fordham University
- Haverford College
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Heritage Christian College
- Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administracion – Venezuela
- International Islamic University Malaysia
- Makerere University (Uganda)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- National University of Management (International College)
- NewSchool of Architecture & Design
- North Dakota State University
- Swarthmore College
- The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
- Trinity University Dublin
- UC Berkeley
- UC Davis
- UC Irvine
- UCLA
- UC Merced
- UC Riverside
- UC San Diego
- UC San Francisco
- UC Santa Barbara
- UC Santa Cruz
- Universidad de Antioquia
- Universidad de Desarrollo
- Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
- Universidad de la Americas – Ecuador
- Universidad del Pacifico
- University College of Technology Sarawak
- University of Kentucky
- University of Michigan
- University of Minnesota
- University of San Diego
- University of St Thomas
- University of Texas at Austin
Application Process
Complete the online application form.
Application Deadline: March 3, 2020
Application ClosedOfficial link