From Competition to the Real World
Projects that have been proposed at the Sustainable Investing Challenge have grown beyond the competition to make positive impacts on communities worldwide. These ventures started as two page student proposals and have evolved into legitimate actors in the impact space.
We encourage and support competitors in their pursuit of sustainable finance careers post-competition, and the examples below are a testament to the innovation and perseverance of students who have not only chosen to dedicate their professional expertise to sustainable finance, but are doing so through the entrepreneurial pursuit of ideas nurtured in the competition.
Launched Ventures
2015 Winner
University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business
Team: Blue Forest
Blue Forest
Blue Forest is a conservation finance non-profit founded in 2015 that advances ecosystem restoration through scientific research, financial innovation, and collaborative partnerships. Since 2018, Blue Forest has managed investor capital through its flagship financial product, the Forest Resilience Bond (FRB), which deploys private capital to finance forest restoration projects to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. More recently, Blue Forest established Blue Forest Asset Management (BFAM), an investment management platform connecting investors to compelling, mission-aligned opportunities in a broader set of asset classes beyond FRB projects, such as private equity and private credit investments.
2019 Finalist
Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management
Team: The Carbon Yield Fund
Carbon Yield
Carbon Yield works to meaningfully compensate land managers for the outcomes associated with the adoption of regenerative agriculture in partnership with governments, cooperatives, and global brands. Carbon Yield has designed carbon offset and inset infrastructure that supports more than $300 million in climate finance across cropland and livestock supply chains. They lead McDonald's largest sustainability investment to date, a 4 million acre grassland resilience initiative across 38 states projected to generate more than 800,000 tonnes of carbon sequestration.
2014 Winner
Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management
Team: Fresh Coast Capital
Greenprint Partners
Greenprint Partners (W/M/DBE, B Corp) is an interdisciplinary, community-centered firm dedicated to delivering sustainable infrastructure that drives lasting environmental and social impact. Through their integrated practice areas—planning and engagement, landscape architecture, civil engineering, program management and strategic advising—Greenprint Partners helps clients move from vision to implementation with built projects, actionable plans and lasting community impact.
2014 Finalist
Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies
Team: Helios
MPower
MPower Ventures is a platform accelerating the energy transition in Africa by providing affordable solar energy solutions to small commercial and industrial clients (C&I) and households. Via a B2B2C model, digital tools and local partners, MPower replaces diesel with reliable solar, cutting costs, emissions and outages.
2021 Finalist
Stanford University, Stanford School of Engineering
Team: Scope 5 Carbon Savings Account
Scope Zero
Scope Zero created the Carbon Savings Account® (CSA). Think health savings account (HSA), but for home technology and personal transportation upgrades that foster employee financial wellness and corporate ESG. CSA upgrades can save the average US home over $5,000 per year. The CSA platform measures and reduces scope 3 work-from-home and commute emissions to accelerate corporate sustainability efforts. Scope Zero's co-founders first put their idea for the CSA on paper as a submission for the 2021 Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge. Scope Zero now serves employee users in over 20 countries across 5 continents.
2012 Finalist
Duke University, Fuqua School of Business
Team: Worldwide Impact Indexed Notes
Secha Capital
Secha Capital invests execution capital in large, fragmented, tech laggard, talent-constrained, misunderstood sectors in emerging and developing markets, unlocked by the Operator–Investor model. It is currently investing out of its $40 million growth equity fund II and marked its ten-year anniversary by hiring its 20th Operator-Investor, closing its 15th SME investment, and driving the creation of 2,500 new jobs.
2023 Winner
Gulu University, Faculty of Agriculture
Team: Village Savings and Agriculture Insurance
VSAI
vsai-climatesmartenterprise.com
VSAI–Climate Smart Enterprise Uganda Limited supports inclusive, scalable, and climate‑resilient enterprises by combining community-based savings models with sustainable agricultural investments. VSAI empowers rural farming households to build long-term economic resilience and escape poverty through climate‑smart agriculture and locally driven finance.