Cultivate Small Business
Building and Sustaining Early-Stage Businesses
Santander’s award-winning Cultivate Small Business (CSB) helps early-stage entrepreneurs build and sustain businesses in the food industry, with a focus on historically underserved founders in low-to-moderate income communities. CSB is a free 12-week MBA-style program that provides a customized curriculum through live virtual classes. Successful graduates leave the program with a fully formulated business plan and pitch, a strong grasp on their target market, financials, and growth goals. All participants who complete the program receive a $2,500 grant, with exemplary graduates eligible for awards of up to $20,000.
The program assists U.S. entrepreneurs by providing:
- Live virtual classes taught by Babson College professors
- A curriculum built for food business owners
- A network of fellow food entrepreneurs and industry experts
- Capital grant awards from $2,500 up to $20,000
Upcoming Cohorts
Apply now to the Spring 2026 cohort, which will run virtually for 12 weeks from March 26 to June 11. Graduation will take place late June or early July.
Application deadline: February 2, 2026
Cohort Eligibility
Any entrepreneur leading an early-stage food industry business (e.g., retail, processing, technology,
manufacturing, food services) that meets the criteria below is eligible to participate:
- In operation for at least one year as of November 1, 2025
- Have 1-10 FTEs (full-time equivalent) employees (including the entrepreneur)
- Revenues between $25,000 and $1,000,000 in the last calendar year
- Located in the United States
Email CultivateSmallBusiness@santander.us with questions or for additional program details.
Partners
Cultivate Small Business is fully funded by Santander. The program is a collaboration between Santander, Babson College, and ICIC.