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 Fall 2026 cohort, which will run virtually for 12 weeks, September 10 to December 3.
Application deadline: July 21, 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 January 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.