
Past Finalists and Winners
The prospectuses and presentations of Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge finalists are not only a great reference for participating students, but are an evolving record of the evolution of the field of sustainable finance, and, in some cases, early iterations of what have now become successful ventures.
Click through each year below to see the prospectuses and final presentations that were deemed the strongest in that year of the competition.
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
2025 Runner-up
Sustainable Agri-aqua Investment Fund
To address groundwater depletion in Punjab, this blended capital model would align micro-irrigation financing with pooled carbon credits and government-backed repayments linked to energy savings, crop diversification through the transition of small farmers to water-efficient practices.
Schulich School of Business, York University
2025 Third Place
Pharaoh Brick Fund
Repurposing Egypt’s rice straw and demolition waste into low-carbon bricks, this fund would reduce pollution and landfill waste while promoting sustainable construction using a sukuk-based financing structure with revenues from brick sales, carbon credits, and government incentives.
Yale University
2025 Finalist
Carbon-Backed Securities
This proposal would aim to scale durable carbon removal by introducing a biochar-focused lending structure for the U.S. in which project loans would be repaid with carbon credits, offering developers affordable financing and enabling banks to acquire high-quality carbon offsets.
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
2025 Finalist
Green Archipelago Fund (GAF)
With Indonesia’s new capital city, Nusantara, committed to full renewable-powered region, GAF seeks to channel investments through a mix of sustainable debt instruments to develop solar power ecosystem and coal phase-out.
Columbia University
2025 Finalist
Harlem Renaissance Bond
Tackling urban heat and high energy costs in Harlem, this bond would finance solar green roofs to provide cooling, renewable power, and health benefits, generating returns from carbon credits, tax incentives, landlord energy efficiency agreements and health insurance outcomes based savings.
Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Columbia University
2025 Finalist
Moroccan Desert Truffle Fund
Designed to formalize and scale Morocco’s desert truffle industry, this blended capital fund would seek to retain producer value and create new revenue streams while eliminating exploitative middlemen and ensuring price stability.
Lagos Business School
2025 Finalist
Musharakah Fund for Solar Powered Cold Storage
This proposed fund would use blended finance to develop solar-powered modular cold storage facilities for smallholder farmers to cut spoilage and stabilize farmer incomes to reduce Nigeria’s $4 billion annual post-harvest losses.
Booth School of Business, University of Chicago
2025 Finalist
NewClear Energy Fund
Focused on supporting India’s energy transition to nuclear, this proposed fund would finance Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to provide low-carbon, reliable power leveraging private equity, concessional debt, and government-backed first-loss capital.
EPFL, UNIL & IMD, London School of Economics
2025 Finalist
Solar Irrigation Systems (SIS) Fund
Supporting smallholder farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa, this financing proposal would expand access to solar-powered irrigation by replacing high upfront costs with pay-as-you-go structures and using Renewable Energy Certificates as an additional revenue stream.