Cornell EMC² Mark Mobius Pitch Competition

Participants apply to compete at the pitch competition at the annual conference.

Selection committee will reach out to request additional information during the selection process.

The five finalists will join the Johnson summer Startup Accelerator at Cornell University. Details will be emailed to the finalists.

Teams pitch to a panel of leading VCs and business angels to be chosen as the global winner.

The global winner will present during the annual conference on November 6.

• Teams may consist of 2-5 undergraduates, graduates, alumni,. Teams must include at least one founding member and designate a faculty advisor/mentor from the university where a founding member attends or has recently graduated or an external advisor;
• Submission author(s) must submit original work. The submission author(s) will retain all rights to their pitch decks and its use prior to and following the competition. However, finalists must agree to allow photography, video, recording of live-stream and otherwise dissemination of their pitch deck presentation within Cornell for faculty, staff, students, and the Cañizares Center for Emerging Markets for educational purposes. In addition, final presentation recording may be posted on the SC Johnson College of Business website for public consumption. Team can not use copyrighted materials and/or images from a third-party in their presentation and pitch decks;
• Submission author(s) give the pitch competition committee the right to post the pitch decks for student and professional judges to access items, write feedback, and assign numerical scores to the items based on an established rubric.
• Non-confidentiality. Finalists will be pitching live at a large, global conference organized by the Cañizares Center for Emerging Markets. Your presentations will be recorded and may be published on digital channels, including YouTube and the EMC² website. Pitch presentations and other pitch activities are also open to the public with possible media coverage. Any information discussed in public pitches by participants could be publicly accessible. Further, judges, reviewers, staff, or the audience may not have signed non-disclosure statements;
• Within one week of the live presentations in November, the EMC² kindly asks the finalists to record a video and write a blog post sharing their pitch experience to be posted on the EMC² website as well as write a thank you note to Mark Mobius, the sponsor. EMC² also asks the finalists to speak to the finalists the following year to share guidance on pitching to a global audience.
• An information session will be scheduled. Before that, judges may contact you requesting additional information and/or an online meeting.

Submissions Open, March 15 – May 1, 2026

• A team of at least two students or recent alumni (within the past three years);
• One faculty mentor from the founder’s university or alma mater, or an external advisor;
• A pitch deck of up to 20 slides describing the venture;
• A working prototype or evidence of market validation;
• Market potential in an emerging economy and/or global scaling potential; the pitch deck must include 5-year financial projections.
• The venture must be in an early development stage and have received less than USD 1 million in funding.

Five Finalists Selected, May 2026

• Evaluators will review submissions and choose five finalists to pitch at the EMC² annual conference on November 5, 2026.
• The five finalists will join the Johnson Summer Startup Accelerator at Cornell University.
• Each of the finalists will gain access to optional networking and coaching opportunities prior to pitching at the EMC² conference.

Five Finalists Present at the Final Competition, November 5, 2026

• $30,000* Grand Prize for Global Winner. The other four finalists will receive $10,000* each. We hope the pitch competition and EMC² network will serve as a helpful resource for all participants.
• The winner will present at the EMC² conference on November 6, 2026, at Cornell Tech campus in New York City.

*The award may be subject to tax withholdings.

Teams must submit a advisor with their submission. The advisor should work at a founder’s university (or alma mater if recently graduated) or an external advisor. Acting as a pitch advisor is not an official endorsement or nomination of the team. However, the advisor should have reviewed the team’s pitch deck and be willing to assist the team prepare for the pitch competition. Teams may share this packet with the faculty mentor with a few recommended and discouraged activities of a faculty advisor or external advisor:

ADVISORS ARE ENCOURAGED TO

• Give constructive feedback and respond to questions and concerns.
• Suggest resources and individuals for the team to speak with prior to the competition.
• Identify weaknesses that may concern investors and suggest solutions.
• Keep the team’s materials confidential unless asked to distribute them by the team.

ADVISORS ARE DISCOURAGED FROM

• Altering the team’s core idea or concept.
• Taking leadership of the team.
• Discussing information about a team with any parties that the team is unaware.
• Distributing team materials without permission of the team.

Founded in 2010, the Cañizares Center for Emerging Markets (EMC²) at the SC Johnson College of Business provides thought leadership on the role of emerging markets—and emerging market multinationals—in the global economy. The Center pools together preeminent practitioners and academics from around the world to spring the next generation of global business leaders and foster a premier research center for emerging markets in the global economy. EMC²’s mission is to prepare and support business leaders who seek a competitive advantage as experts of emerging markets.

The Cornell EMC² Mark Mobius Pitch Competition committee will reach out to the contact on file to confirm your team’s intent to pitch in the final. If your team is no longer operational, cannot be reached or chooses not to pitch at the global finals, you will forgo any possible expense reimbursement to the next runner-up. The competition may reach out to a runner-up with the opportunity to present at the global finals or proceed with the remaining teams.

Changes early and often are expected of early-stage ventures. The Cornell EMC² Mark Mobius Pitch Competition committee will reach out to the contact on file to collect your team’s updated pitch deck before the final. Please see the Rules and Guidelines regarding the distribution of your presentations at the public conference in November. Final presentations will be published on online platforms following the EMC² Annual Conference and may appear in third-party media coverage. By October, 2026, your team will be asked to confirm that the main contact on file is the presenter and recipient of the finalist. Your team must indicate 2-5 team members that the final award money ($30,000*) would be split between should you win the pitch competition.