NFTE’s global community of friends and supporters comes together every year to make the World Series of Innovation happen because we believe young entrepreneurs power innovation. As a new set of WSI challenges comes together, the strongest support comes from our challenge sponsors. Their financial contributions are vital, of course, but so is their thought leadership and their commitment to skills-based volunteering to help young competitors understand the challenges and brainstorm about possible solutions.

Our sponsors help us plan the set of challenges offered, demonstrating not just how aligned they are to the Global Goals, but also how committed they are to nurturing the next generation. Challenge sponsors step up to support our young competitors in a much more direct way than simply writing checks. They host WSI Innovation Days and their people lead coaching sessions for competitors – both online and in communities across the U.S. and abroad. Volunteers help young competitors understand the real-world context of the SDG challenges and they serve on the judging panels that evaluate WSI entries and select finalists and winners.

Our sponsors also participate in an annual World Series of Innovation thought leadership event at the United Nations, kicking off NFTE’s celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week with insightful panel discussions on topics ranging from the future of work to the ways that entrepreneurship and innovation drive social impact.