Banco Santander has launched the 16th edition of the Explorer program, designed to bring the ideas of young entrepreneurs to life. This initiative, developed in conjunction with the Santander International Center for Enterprise (CISE), provides participants with the necessary tools and skills to develop their projects.

Over the course of 12 weeks, they will develop key skills to turn their idea into a sustainable and viable solution.

Throughout this journey, which will last twelve weeks (January 30 to April 30), researchers They will develop skills such as leadership, teamwork or communication and will work on their idea, turning it into a viable and viable solution. In addition, they will be connected to the international community; will undergo online and face-to-face training in methodology learn through practice, based on experiments; they will have access to expert mentoring sessions to resolve doubts; and they will learn how to test business models, make financial forecasts, or build customer relationships.

AT researcher Any innovative idea focused on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations in its 2030 Agenda is accepted and revolves around a central axis: all countries, regardless of their level of development or wealth, are committed to promoting prosperity and protect the environment to guarantee a better future. “The program is designed to ensure that you become an active participant in change through the implementation of economically sustainable projects,” say those in charge.

Accepting applications until December 13

The call is open to young people from 10 countries (USA and Germany joined) who can register until next December 13 via explorerbyx.org. Since the inception of Explorer in 2009, nearly 10,000 projects have been submitted from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, the UK and Uruguay. As for Spain, more than 7,000 projects have already taken part in various publications. In the latter, there were 1,045 entrepreneurial ideas from 75 university incubators and women’s participation was 42.6%.

Teams selected by a panel of evaluators of the Spanish Research Spaces and participating universities and centers from different countries will travel to an important center in Valencia, where they will have an intensive week of immersion, training and consultation, during which they will receive advice from professionals from prestigious companies. In addition, this international experience will allow them to access a community of young people with a wide range of profiles and establish an important network of contacts.

Create a community to change the world

“The ideal trajectory for an entrepreneur in Santander X starts with the Santander Explorer, which provides them not only with the tools and net necessary for the reliable assembly of your project, but also the confidence that the venture is not only possible, but more viable than you think”, assures Diego CalascibettaGlobal Director of Entrepreneurship at Santander Universities.

For Grecia Perez, who participated in Explorer last year with the Ellas Artes project to build a network of support and advice for women artists, “people are very generous when it comes to donations.” Feedback: you get new ideas all the time, new information that helps the project a lot. People who want to change the world create a community. Danila Blanco also highlights the relationships created and explains his experience. “Most of all I take from the Explorer of my colleagues, the various groups that have been brought together. I think that this synergy that is created with the team and with colleagues from all over Latin America, Spain, is very pleasant…”.

Solutions for the challenges of the future

Explorer is part of Santander X, a global community of entrepreneurs where universities and entrepreneurs share ideas and knowledge, and provide access to training, advice and fundraising for further growth. Thanks to this initiative, the bank supports entrepreneurship at all its stages. From pre-incubation projects to visibility, communication and resources for startups D scaling They have already begun their international expansion. For the organization, “innovation plays a key role in finding solutions to currently unanswered problems, as well as in boosting productivity, employment and economic growth.”

Explorer is part of Santander X, the bank’s global community that supports entrepreneurship at all stages.

Under the auspices of Santander X are numerous global challenges thrown to entrepreneurs to promote, support and accompany the development of the best ideas: solutions to fight global problems such as climate change or social inequality; help SMEs in their digital transformation or accelerate the green transformation of the automotive industry; new technology applications blockchain… In short, various challenges and prizes to accelerate innovation.

Banco Santander’s commitment to higher education and university entrepreneurship is expressed in the universities of Santander, which have been one of the hallmarks of the group for over 25 years. The organization has committed more than 2,100 million euros and supported more than 790,000 students, professionals and entrepreneurial projects through agreements with nearly 1,000 universities and institutions in 15 countries.