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Manolo Sanchez Prize

The Manolo Sanchez Prize offers $25,000 to a for-profit or nonprofit startup that aims to improve the financial health of underserved communities (underbanked, underfunded, or underinsured).

Preference will be given to projects that develop solutions in areas such as: credit, insurance, payments, remittances, savings, personal finance, financial education, and financial infrastructure. We also prioritize projects that seek to create global solutions through fintech, policy advocacy, public-private partnerships, storytelling, impact investing, financial infrastructure and more.

This prize is possible due to the support of Manolo Sanchez (YC ’87); for more information about the vision for this prize, please read this article. This prize seeks to:

In addition to the potential prize money, Startup Yale provides participants with constructive feedback from experienced professionals, mentorship from relevant experts, and chances to network with venture capital investors, nonprofit funders, and industry leaders.

Application Selection & Judging Criteria 

The Manolo Sanchez Prize is open to any team with at least one current, degree-seeking Yale student in a leadership position. Reviewers and judges will evaluate applications based on the following criteria:

Past Winners

Partners

Happening April 3-4, 2024 at Hotel Marcel