Impact Investing Pitch Competition
The annual Cornell Impact Investing Pitch Competition provides a unique opportunity for undergraduates nationwide to practice pitching an investment proposal and explore the rapidly-growing field of impact investing. Undergraduate students will identify, research, and recommend an existing early-stage company that addresses a social or environmental problem for a hypothetical investment of up to $1 million. Participants will have the chance to not only win cash prizes but also build relationships with impact investment professionals and industry leaders.
If you are interested, please fill out the initial interest form to secure access to the info sessions and receive important updates. If you already have a team, please fill out the team registration form.
How it Works
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Students across all majors, schools, and years are encouraged to participate. No prior experience is necessary!
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Attend the information session to gain more insight about the competition and about impact investing in general (recordings will be made available). This will be followed by a Q&A session to answer any questions you might have. There will be two information sessions that will be taking place virtually on Thursday, January 29th, 2026 at 5:00 pm EST and on Wednesday, February 4th, 2026 at 4:30 pm EST.
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Choose an existing startup or an early-stage company that addresses a social or environmental problem that could benefit from a hypothetical investment of $1 million. You may choose any type of startup but here are some suggested themes:
Health and Well-being: Promoting healthy lives and wellbeing across all ages, affordability, accessibility, etc.
Sustainable Fashion and Beauty: Sustainable materials, up-cycling, production, sourcing, design, waste management, etc.
Education: Access, retention, literacy, EdTech, student support, etc.
Climate Change and Renewable Energy: Climate mitigation tools, sustainable forestry, energy efficiency products, clean energy technologies, etc.
Food and Agriculture: Hunger alleviation, food security, nutrition, sustainable agriculture, organic food, clean water access and/or utilization, etc.
There are no restrictions on the company so feel free to pick any company!
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Teams are to create a short pitch deck for their investment recommendation which could include some or all of the following:
Investment Strategy
Industry and Company Overview
Competitive Landscape
Growth Drivers
Investment Risk and Mitigation
Financial analysis
Environmental/Social Impact
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Teams should take on the role of analysts working for an impact investing firm pitching their investment idea to senior partners of the firm. Teams are to submit a 3-minute video of their pitch which will be reviewed by a panel of judges (senior partners) with expertise in the field of sustainability, entrepreneurship, and impact investing.
The video should include a view of the person(s) pitching and the slide deck simultaneously
The video should not include any mention of or images that would indicate your home university
While we strive to provide all teams constructive feedback on their pitches, only selected teams will advance to the next round.
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The teams that advance to the final round will be paired up with experienced mentors who will help them prepare for the final presentation. The final round will take place during the Cornell Business Impact Symposium, on the Cornell University campus. Limited travel assistance will be available to non-Cornell finalists. We will work with finalists to make accommodations, so please do not let the in-person round discourage you from participating.
