Hult Prize
Hult Prize Foundation
World's largest student startup competition: teams of 2-4 enrolled university students pitch a for-profit venture advancing a UN SDG, progressing from campus/open qualifiers to Nationals, a Digital Incubator, a London accelerator and a USD 1M Global Final.
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Eligibility
- Who can apply
- All nationalities
- Education required
- Undergraduate enrolled
- Age
- from 18 (All team members must be at least 18 by 28 February 2027 (2026-27 cycle))
- Fields
- Entrepreneurship, Business
- Also required
- Teams of 2-4 members, all currently enrolled in a degree-seeking programme at a university or college
- Venture must be a for-profit startup that directly supports at least one UN SDG
About this opportunity
The Hult Prize challenges university students to launch for-profit startups that support at least one UN Sustainable Development Goal. The competition runs September to September in five rounds: Qualifiers (Sept-Feb, on campus or via the online Open Application), Nationals (Apr-May), Digital Incubator (Jun-Jul), Global Accelerator (August, a month of mentorship at Ashridge House, UK) and Global Finals (September), where one team wins USD 1,000,000 in seed funding.
All team members must be enrolled in a degree-seeking programme at a university or college and be at least 18 (by 28 February 2027 for the 2026-27 cycle); teams have 2-4 members. Students in Ghana can compete through a Hult Prize OnCampus programme at their university or via the Open Application. Registration for the 2025-26 cycle is closed; the next cycle starts in September 2026.
- Level
- Undergraduate, Master's, PhD
- Where
- Multiple countries
- Duration
- Full cycle September to September (Qualifiers Sep-Feb, Nationals Apr-May, Digital Incubator Jun-Jul, Global Accelerator Aug, Global Finals Sep)
- Number of awards
- 1 winning team (USD 1M); c. 45 national competitions and 8 global finalists in 2026
- Difficulty
- High · about 6 weeks to prepare
Funding
Prize
- prize money
- training
USD 1,000,000 in seed funding to the winning team; top teams receive mentoring in the Digital Incubator and a month-long Global Accelerator at Ashridge House, UK
What you will need
- Other documents
Online team registration; pitch materials (deck/pitch) required at each round - not itemised on the pages fetched.
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