Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC)

Chicago Booth houses one of the nation’s first social venture competitions: the John Edwardson, ’72, Social New Venture Challenge. Since 2011, the SNVC has helped jump-start 108 companies and nonprofits.

Our startups are connecting farmers with technology, teaching high-school students financial skills, and more. SNVC companies have raised more than $10.4 million in philanthropic dollars, grant support, and venture capital funding.

What is the SNVC?

Hello Tractor The SNVC is a competition for startups with a social mission at their core. Offered in partnership with the University of Chicago Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the SNVC is the social impact track of the Edward L. Kaplan, ’71, New Venture Challenge, the University of Chicago’s business launch program.

SNVC teams enroll in New Social Ventures (BUS 34115), a Booth course that complements the SNVC program.

The SNVC is open to for-profit and nonprofit startups. Successful applicants must have a plausible plan for financial sustainability—either through equity investment, direct revenue, grants from philanthropy, government funding, or some combination. Seven finalists compete every May for $100,000 in prize money to further their social ventures.

Learn more about the SNVC and Apply

For details on eligibility requirements, key dates, and how to apply,
visit the SNVC page.

To receive updates on upcoming SNVC events and other programs offered through the Edwardson Social Entrepreneurship Program, sign up here.

Social New Venture Challenge “The SNVC resonated with what I have thought we needed to be doing at Booth for people who want to change the world. How do we help them learn to do that? It’s rewarding to see this many MBA students wanting to make a difference, spending a lot of time coming up with ideas and plans on how to make things happen.”

—John Edwardson, ’72, speaking to Chicago Booth Magazine in 2015

SNVC Social Impact Stories

SNVC startups are tackling complex problems around the world and garnering widespread attention for their work. Learn more about three notable SNVC companies: LuminAID, Hello Tractor, and BallotReady.

Twice featured on Shark Tank and the winner of the 2012 Social New Venture Challenge, LuminAID makes portable lanterns that provide 24 hours of light on 10 hours of solar charging. Now used in more than 100 countries, the product was originally designed to assist with Haiti’s post-earthquake relief efforts and the dangerous conditions in tent cities. Read about the company’s newest product in the Chicago Tribune.

Hello Tractor, winner of the 2014 SNVC, is Africa’s Uber for tractors. For small-scale farmers in Nigeria, getting tractors to use on their farmlands to boost the yield is incredibly difficult. Affordability is a factor as well as the fact that the federal government is the country’s largest tractor supplier. Hello Tractor is fixing the problem. Read more in the Hindu Times.

BallotReady deciphers what can be intimidatingly long voting ballots for US elections. It’s often difficult to learn anything about the dozens of local candidates and ballot measures, and the further down the ballot you go, the harder it gets. This Chicago startup and 2015 SNVC winner is trying to put all of that information on smartphones for voters nationwide. Read more in Chicago Magazine.

Mentoring

Our social entrepreneur in residence is a vital resource for students.

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Experiential Learning

The social impact curriculum at Chicago Booth combines the school’s foundational teachings in finance, economics, and operations with real-world experiences.

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Impact Investing

The MIINT competition allows student teams to conduct diligence on early-stage impact investments and then pitch those investment ideas to venture capitalists.

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