WSI positions youth as a driving force for the UN 2030 Agenda. Young people bring a unique advantage: they are free from corporate bias and imagine solutions unconstrained by traditional systems. This cognitive diversity turns WSI into a global crowdsourcing engine for bold, disruptive ideas aligned with the SDGs; ideas that established teams might overlook.
WSI also transforms youth from passive recipients into co-creators. The UN emphasizes that the 2030 Agenda cannot be achieved without the engagement and ownership of new generations. By sponsoring a challenge, companies recognize young people as intellectual partners. Generation Z is the first sustainability-native generation, and more than 70% make decisions based on a company’s ethical stance; engaging them now builds future loyalty in both talent and consumers.
The program develops essential skills for the “Imagination Economy.” As identified by the World Economic Forum, critical thinking, creativity, and complex problem-solving are top future skills. Through challenges in areas like Climate Action and Quality Education, young participants build entrepreneurial mindsets and the capacity to innovate.
Finally, WSI strengthens brand purpose and ESG impact. In today’s era of stakeholder capitalism, companies must demonstrate measurable social value. Sponsoring an SDG-aligned challenge directly links the brand to meaningful solutions; whether in financial education, responsible AI, or environmental resilience.
The World Series of Innovation starts when a sponsor adopts an SDG and launches a global challenge with a clear brief—such as designing a product that helps people build credit securely. The branded challenge card appears on the WSI website and youth join through two leagues. The Imagination League (ages 5–12) uses playful activities like drawings and simple models to spark early creativity. The Impact League (ages 13–24) is more advanced, using Design Thinking and Lean Startup tools to validate ideas and shape viable business models.
NFTE and Fundación E guide the process with downloadable toolkits and classroom support. Over several weeks, students research the issue, brainstorm, prototype, and refine their solutions. Company employees may participate as mentors or judges, giving feedback and strengthening the sponsor’s engagement.
At the end, teams submit a 1–2 minute video pitch and a slide deck summarizing their idea. Judges—including the sponsor—evaluate entries based on innovation, feasibility, and SDG impact. Winners receive seed funding to develop their projects or continue their studies.
Imagine a high school student in Mexico City seeing your company’s challenge, working for a month, and delivering a creative solution your R&D team may not have considered. Multiply that by thousands of young people in dozens of countries—that’s the World Series of Innovation in practice.
The World Series of Innovation has been spreading through a combination of strategic outreach and organic visibility. Fundación E and NFTE promote the program through schools, principals, and education authorities, while social media campaigns amplify youth participation and winning ideas. Local media coverage, teacher networks, and partnerships with ministries of education help expand reach into more communities across Mexico and beyond.
Over time, we have strengthened and expanded the World Series of Innovation to make it more accessible, impactful, and relevant to diverse youth—especially in Mexico. One major enhancement has been the creation of two distinct leagues (Imagination and Impact), allowing us to adapt the challenge to different developmental stages. This ensures that children as young as five can engage creatively, while older youth can work with more advanced innovation and entrepreneurship tools.
We also expanded the educational infrastructure around the challenge. Toolkits, step-by-step guides, and teacher resources were redesigned for easier classroom use. In Mexico, we localized these materials to reflect cultural context, language, and national priorities. We integrated mentorship opportunities so corporate partners can guide teams, adding a real-world perspective and strengthening student learning.
Digital elements have also been upgraded. Online submission portals, clearer rubrics, and video-based pitching create a more professional experience for students and a more valuable pipeline of ideas for sponsors.
Finally, we broadened outreach channels—partnering with ministries of education, leveraging social media, and activating local school networks. These changes have collectively increased participation, improved solution quality, and made the innovation more inclusive and scalable across regions.
To begin implementing the World Series of Innovation, the first step is to select an SDG that aligns with your organization’s mission or social priorities. This SDG becomes the theme of your sponsored challenge. Once chosen, we work with you to shape a clear, actionable brief that invites young people to design a solution to a specific problem your organization cares about.
Next, we translate the challenge into an educational experience by preparing toolkits, learning guides, and digital materials for teachers and students. Fundación E and NFTE handle the full rollout, sharing the challenge with schools, community groups, and youth networks. Your company can also decide how involved it wants to be—providing mentors, offering judges, or simply sponsoring the challenge while we manage implementation.
We then launch the challenge publicly, promote it through our networks, and support educators as students research, brainstorm, and prototype solutions. You will receive periodic updates and have access to the entries as students submit their video pitches and slide decks.
Finally, you join the judging process, help select winners, and take part in celebrating the young innovators. Trying WSI is simple: choose your SDG, define your brief, and let us handle the outreach, learning, and logistics. Your role is to inspire the challenge—ours is to activate thousands of young minds to solve it.
