2025 Turner MIINT Builds Future Leaders in Impact Investing
Graduate students from around the world compete as impact investors through the Turner MBA Impact Investing Network & Training (MIINT) program, with diverse teams and innovative ideas taking center stage.
In April 2025, graduate student teams from around the globe presented their diligence in hopes of securing a share of $100,000 available for investments into high-impact ventures at the 14th annual Turner MBA Impact Investing Network & Training (MIINT) competition.
The Turner MIINT, which gives hands-on education in impact investing for business and graduate school students, was a collaboration between Bridges Impact Foundation and Wharton Impact.
This year’s cohort included 415 students, supported by 135 campus leaders, 46 industry mentors, 42 judges, and the Turner MIINT Steering Committee. Throughout the year, students built their impact investing expertise via live and asynchronous training sessions led by global industry and faculty experts. This online curriculum was complemented by networking opportunities with impact professionals, peers, and alumni.
In early 2025, each participating school held internal competitions to select its top team to advance to the global finals at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. A total of 167 students were selected and traveled from as far as Europe and the Middle East to attend the final investment committee event.
Participants were welcomed to Wharton by Dean Erika James and Bobby Turner, W’84.
“Our students here today engage in rigorous analysis, strategic thinking, and an unwavering commitment to driving meaningful change.”
– Erika James, Dean of the Wharton School
Dean James shared, “Our students here today engage in rigorous analysis, strategic thinking, and an unwavering commitment to driving meaningful change. They have demonstrated their capacity to drive innovation and catalyze transformative solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time.”
Bobby Turner, sponsor of the Turner MIINT program alongside Lauren Turner W’85, shared, “I was incredibly impressed with the quality of work done by these students – and, more so, by the passion and commitment to using their business degrees for positive change. As I looked around the room, I was confident that I was meeting some of the impact investing industry’s future leaders.”
Following the welcome, students attended a panel on the future of impact investing, led by Katherine Klein, Edward H. Bowman Professor of Management and Faculty Co-Director of Wharton’s Impact Investing Research Lab. The panel celebrated the publication of An Introduction to Early-Stage Impact Investing and featured co-editor Jennifer Walske (Adjunct Professor at USC Marshall and TMIINT Steering Committee member), book contributors Michael Brown (Head of Research at Wharton Impact), and Tyler Wry (Associate Professor of Management and Faculty Co-Director of Wharton’s Impact Investing Research Lab).
The two-day immersive experience gave students the opportunity to network with peers and judges, observe each other’s presentations, and attend panels on careers in impact investing, the climate finance landscape, and trends shaping the field.
And the Winners are…
The $50,000 Moelis Family Prize for best impact investment opportunity was awarded to the team from the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business.* They presented ReJoule, a battery diagnostic hardware and software platform that cuts testing time from hours to minutes.
Caroline Murray, MBA 2026 of the winning team, noted, “Turner MIINT provided our team with a strong foundation in the core elements of impact investing, which we came to understand as a mix of financial viability aligned with long-term, measurable outcomes. Drawing on our varied backgrounds in nonprofit leadership, supply chain procurement, finance, and entrepreneurship, we were able to approach diligence with a wider lens and a more thoughtful, integrated perspective.”
“Turner MIINT provided our team with a strong foundation in the core elements of impact investing, which we came to understand as a mix of financial viability aligned with long-term, measurable outcomes.”
– Caroline Murray, MBA 2026 of the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business
Two runner-up teams, from the University of Vermont Grossman School of Business and Boston University Questrom School of Business, were each awarded a $25,000 investment in their presented company.* Vermont’s team presented Brightwater Tools, a modular wastewater management solution, while Boston University pitched TurnSignl, a technology company offering low-cost, real-time legal guidance during traffic stops and accidents via a mobile app. Boston University also earned the Audience Choice Award.
The Best Diligence Award, which recognizes exceptional research and analysis regardless of investment recommendation, went to Columbia University for their presentation of Re:Dish. The team’s analysis and on-site diligence impressed the judges in every round of the competition.
This year also marked the introduction of a new Impact Analysis Prize, awarded to the London School of Economics for their presentation of Zzapp Malaria, a health tech company focused on using technology to reduce the cost of malaria eradication. The team received a unanimous vote to earn the inaugural prize.
Mike McCreless, Executive Director of Bridges Impact Foundation, Executive Director of Impact Frontiers, and Turner MIINT Steering Committee Member shared, “This year we sought to provide additional support to ensure that students thoroughly considered the potential impact of each company and introduced an impact due diligence prize to recognize the students that did the best job.” The winning team was invited to present their analysis process to the full audience during the final round.
Reflections
Now in its 14th year, the program continues to help students develop the skills and mindset needed to evaluate ventures with both financial rigor and impact in mind.
“The structure of the Turner MIINT program pushed us to think like investors, balancing mission alignment with market opportunity, and gave us hands-on experience building an investment case that could stand up to real-world scrutiny,” said Caroline Murray, MBA 2026.
That sentiment was echoed by industry leaders who served as judges and mentors throughout the program.
“It is incredible to see hundreds of students from business schools around the world diligence, present, and make a case for investing in companies that are solving the most pressing problems of our time,” said Radhika Shroff, Managing Director of Private Equity Impact at Nuveen and TMIINT finals judge. “Turner MIINT is playing a key role in educating the next generation of investors on how to be great impact investors – to both drive commercial returns as well as deliver measurable impact.”
As impact investing grows, Turner MIINT continues to shape the leaders who will define its future.
*Note: all investments into winning companies are pending further diligence by Impact Assets.
Disclaimer: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania does not provide any endorsement, either implicit or explicit, in companies that participate with the Turner MIINT. Neither the University of Pennsylvania, the Wharton School, nor student participants in the Turner MIINT are investors in participating companies. Companies run by current students of the University of Pennsylvania are not eligible for review by the Turner MIINT.
Get Involved with the Turner MIINT
The Turner MIINT program will return next academic year, and all graduate students interested in participating will be able to apply in September. Schools that are interested in learning more about participating in the Turner MIINT program can learn more and connect at the link below.