- The Santander X Global Challenge | Education, Employability, and Entrepreneurship is aimed at start-ups and scale-ups in 11 countries.
- The six winning projects will receive prizes worth €120,000, access to the Santander X 100 global community and be able to connect with Fintech Station, Banco Santander’s open innovation area.
- The companies that wish to participate in the challenge can sign up until 21st March at Santander X.
Banco Santander and the Oxentia Foundation are launching the Santander X Global Challenge | Education, Employability, and Entrepreneurship, a global challenge for startups and scaleups from 11 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Uruguay and USA) that provide innovative solutions in the areas of education, employability and entrepreneurship.
The initiative aims to help companies that strive to improve the lives of people and find a response to social challenges where technological progress and labour dynamics are essential to drive education, employability, and entrepreneurship.
The solutions must focus on boosting access to education and constant learning – skill development platforms, online or virtual reality learning for educational experiences; helping drive employability and the identification of talent – augmented reality simulators for interviews, AI platforms with personalised job offers or that identify key skills not shown in traditional selection processes -, and promoting entrepreneurship and the creation of new companies or accelerating the growth and transformation of existing businesses – business incubator programmes to create new start-ups, access to specific resources, such as crowdfunding/financing facilities to scale up projects or platforms with advantages and benefits in growing and creating communities, among others.
The deadline for submitting applications to Santander X is 21st March.
“This challenge further strengthens our commitment to these three key drivers of socio-economic development and the progress of people, while we help start-ups and scale-ups achieve their goals.”
Rafael Hernández
Global Deputy Director of Santander Universities
A jury of experts will assess, validate, and announce the six winning projects, which will receive prizes worth €120,000: €30,000 for the three winning start-ups (€10,000 each) and €90,000 for the three best scale-ups (€30,000 each). The winners will also have access to Santander X 100, the prime global community with Santander X’s most outstanding companies, and will be able to connect with Fintech Station, Banco Santander’s Open Innovation area.
Steve Cleverley, CEO of Oxentia Foundation, observed, “supporting innovation within the sectors of Education, Employability, and Entrepreneurship is crucial for enhancing skill development, fostering economic growth and empowers individuals to adapt to evolving challenges. This ultimately contributes to a more dynamic and resilient society. Oxentia Foundation is therefore delighted to be working in partnership with Banco Santander to launch the new global challenge”.
The winners will be announced on 16 May in an award-giving event that will be streamed live on Santander X.
Banco Santander undertakes a number of initiatives to help people enhance their future prospects. Through Santander X, Banco Santander helps business owners and small enterprises create opportunities, become stronger and grow, offering them the training, advice and resources needed to move forward and scale up their business.