BARRIO (Forbes) – Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!

Today, September 15, marks the start of a month-long celebration highlighting the contributions and histories of the Hispanic and Latin-American communities across the U.S. This year, we’re kicking off the celebration by announcing the Forbes 30 Under 30 Latinx Pitch Competition.

The competition will be held on October 9 at our flagship 30 Under 30 Summit in Cleveland, Ohio. There, up to five Latinx or Hispanic founders under the age of 30 will be chosen to present a three to five minute business pitch to a panel of four judges—including award-winning rapper Bad Bunny, who will personally contribute $100,000 of the $300,000 total grand prize.

Bad Bunny, born Benito Martínez Ocasio, made the Forbes 30 Under 30 Music list in 2019. Since his breakout songs “Diles” and “Soy Peor” (which translate to “Tell Them” and “I’m Worse” and were both released in 2016), he’s parlayed his musical talent into three Grammy awards, more than 18.5 billion annual Spotify streams in 2022 and acting roles in movies like Bullet Train and Cassandro. He has also partnered with brands like Adidas, Corona and Cheetos. And he was named on Forbes’ Highest-Paid Entertainers list this year, earning $88 million in 2022 by Forbes estimates.

Bad Bunny is part of the burgeoning Hispanic entrepreneurial community. There are some 5 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S. that contribute more than $800 billion to the American economy annually, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. And Latines start more businesses per capita than any other racial group in the United States, according to a 2021 report by McKinsey. Yet, Latinx founders receive just around 2% of all venture capital funding.

To support a growing founder in this community, Bad Bunny will be joined by three other judges to determine the pitch competition winner, including Arturo Elizondo, 2020 30 Under 30 Science lister and the cofounder of EVERY; Camila Tellez, 2021 30 Under 30 Retail & Ecommerce lister and founder of Parade; and Jomayra Herrera, 2018 30 Under 30 Education lister and partner at Reach Capital.