The award is divided into two categories so as to promote the best business ideas in the project phase and the top, already established, Spanish technology-based start-ups, which will subsequently be eligible to compete for the 2022 Santander X Global Award, representing Spain.

Entrepreneurs will receive training, support and advice, and will be eligible for prizes of up to €10,000.

Interested parties can sign up at santanderx.com until 24 October.

Madrid, 8 September 2022.
Banco Santander has launched the second edition of the university entrepreneurship challenge, Santander X Award | Spain 2022, an initiative it is developing through Santander Universities and which aims to promote the best Spanish projects and start-ups, driving talent, competitiveness and employability.

 The challenge, which entrepreneurs can sign up to at santanderx.com until 24 October, will be divided into two categories:

• Launch: for entrepreneurs linked to a university (students, teachers, researchers or civil servants) with projects that are still in the early stages but that have disruptive potential and are highly scalable, and which have a conceptual prototype that can be validated with potential customers.
• Accelerate: for highly innovative technology-based university start-ups, which are active with a product or service on the market and which were established within the last ten years.

Susana García Espinel, senior executive vice president of Santander Universities and Universia Spain, states that “In the current context in which we find ourselves, supporting employability and entrepreneurship is a priority for Banco Santander as fundamental pillars for building more competitive societies with greater opportunities for all; with Santander X Award | Spain 2022, we want to support Spanish entrepreneurs financially and by providing them with international training, advice and visibility, helping them to progress in their projects, as well as acknowledging the talent emerging from Spanish universities.”

Phases and awards

The candidates will go through an initial selection phase where a team of experts will assess the best projects based on criteria such as innovation, competitive advantage, the business model and the entrepreneurs’ profile. Those selected will move on to a second phase in which the ten finalists of both Launch and Accelerate will be chosen.

After receiving mentoring, the 20 finalists will participate in a final phase in which they will have to present their projects to a panel of experts who will choose three winners from each category. These winners will be eligible for cash prizes of between €2,000 and €5,000 for Launch, and between €4,000 and €10,000 for Accelerate.

They will also have the opportunity to compete internationally with the best entrepreneurs from other countries and to represent Spain in the 2022 Santander X Global Award.

Banco Santander and its support for higher education

Banco Santander, leader in responsible banking, is strongly committed to progress and inclusive and sustainable growth. For more than 25 years, it has been relying on Santander Universities to deliver on its pioneering and consolidated pledge to education, entrepreneurship and employment, which distinguishes it from other financial institutions in the world. Since the launch of Santander Universities, the bank has deployed more than €2.1 billion and has supported more than 790,000 students, professionals and entrepreneurial projects through agreements with nearly 1,000 universities and institutions across 15 countries.