Forbes, impact investor Rise Fund, and talent support organisation Echoing Green, have partnered to host the Global Under 30 Impact Challenge, offering US$250,000 funding and media coverage to the top impact-oriented startup run by a creative entrepreneur under 30.
The Global Under 30 Impact Challenge seeks creative entrepreneurs aged under 30 from around the world, who are driving positive social and environmental impact through for-profit businesses.
Shortlisted finalists will pitch to a panel comprising members of the competition hosts, and one will be selected to receive US$250,000 in funding from the Rise Fund – the impact investing fund of TPG Growth – as well as a US$250,000 in-kind media grant from Forbes.
The winner will be announced and presented their award at the Forbes Under 30 Summit, to be held in Boston, US, in October.
“At an event that celebrates the world’s best young entrepreneurs, we’re proud to host a competition for those who are also committed to making a positive social impact. The partners we have in this endeavour are fittingly world-class,” said Forbes magazine editor Randall Lane.
The competition focuses on companies active in seven sectors: education, energy, food and agriculture, financial services, growth infrastructure, healthcare, and TMT (technology, media and telecommunications).
Applicants must must be under 30, and their businesses must be in a growth phase, with two full years of generating revenue above US$100,000 and/or US$1 million in cumulative revenue.
“The creativity and dynamism that exists in the Under 30 cohort around social and business innovation is extraordinary. The Rise Fund is excited to partner with Forbes and Echoing Green to identify and invest in the winning enterprise to help scale the business and drive what we call ‘colinearity,’ where the financial success of the business is inextricably linked to the delivery of positive impact outcomes,” said Bill McGlashan, founder and managing partner of TPG Growth, and co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Rise Fund.
Applications are open here, until September 6.
