Entrepreneurship Competitions
The mai Bangkok Business Challenge @ Sasin
About: Held annually since 2002, the ‘mai Bangkok Business Challenge® @ Sasin’ competition is Thailand’s first (and only) global new venture plan competition with a special focus on Sustainable development.
Participants: TBC
Award: Cash prices of up to US$ 10,000
Application deadline: November 10, 2011 Online Registration. December 30, 2011: Deadline for submission of Application Forms and Summary Business Plans
ISB iDiya (India)
About: ISB iDiya Challenge has been conceptualized to encourage the social entrepreneurship paradigm amongst youth in India. It endeavors to bring together entrepreneurs, mentors and investors to help create sustainable and scalable businesses that have a positive social impact.
Participants: The challenge is aimed at working professionals in India. Teams of 2 to 4 individuals can participate. No team member must be currently enrolled in an educational institution pursuing a full-time program.
Award: A one-week all expenses paid BootCamp for the top six teams where you will meet industry leaders, venture capitalists and business mentors + mentoring support after the competition. Top 20 ideas will be showcased on the iDiya website. Cash rewards of up to 3 lakh + mentorship + bootcamp.
Application deadline: September 15, 2011
Wantrapreneur (India)
About: Wantrapreneur 2011, the Social Business Plan competition, is organized as a part of Villgro’s Unconvention, India’s premier Innovation & Social Entrepreneurship conference. Applications are invited from Start-up and Early Growth enterprises with market based solutions that can transform rural lives.
Participants: Applicants should be Indian nationals of 18 or above years of age, and the competition is open only for start-up or early growth companies who are legal entities with significant operations.
Award: Rewards include cash prizes up to Rs.10 lakhs, well-rounded media exposure, and a chance to get incubated by Villgro or other incubators. Agriculture-based enterprises will receive a special reward.
Application deadline: September 30, 2011
The 2012 Buckminster Fuller Challenge (Global)
About: The Buckminster Fuller Challenge is an annual international design Challenge awarding $100,000 to support the development and implementation of a strategy that has significant potential to solve humanity’s most pressing problems. It attracts bold, visionary, tangible initiatives focused on a well-defined need of critical importance. Winning solutions are regionally specific yet globally applicable and present a truly comprehensive, anticipatory, integrated approach to solving the world’s complex problems.
Participants: Anyone
Award: Up to US$100,00
Application deadline: October 21, 2011
Staples Youth Social Entrepreneurship Competition (Global)
About: The Youth Social Entrepreneurship Competition will search for outstanding youth changemakers; leaders of social ventures aged 12 to 24 who make a difference in the world. This years focus lies on how technology is helping realize your vision for change.
Participants: open to all youth who are: between the ages of 12 and 24, are operating a youth-led social venture whith demonstrated impact.
Award: Four winners will will receive an all expenses paid trip to Techonomy, an elite conference held in Tucson/USA that convenes thought leaders, innovators, and changemakers from the technology sector. One grand prize winner will receive a Round the World Learning Tour with Youth Venture.
Application deadline: September 9, 2011
William James Foundation Socially Responsible Business Plan Competition (Global)
About: The William James Foundation (WJF) seeks to identify, promote, and support entrepreneurs who have financially viable ways of integrating social and/or environmental sustainability into a for-profit business model. There is a processing fee of $50 to enter our competition. Competitions have three rounds: Executive Summary, Full Plan, and Public Presentation.
Participants: Entrants can be of any age or from anywhere in the world. The business must either not have started yet, or be in start-up phase.
Award: The cash and in-kind prizes as a whole are worth more than $100,000
Application deadline: October 12, 2011
New Venture Championship (Global)
About: Presented by the University of Oregon’s Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship (LCE), the first NVC was held in 1992 in a classroom at the University of Oregon. A result of its intense academic focus and guaranteed interaction with multiple panels of judges in a professional format, NVC is an unmatched experience for any start-up venture team.
Participants: This is a competition for graduate students, and at least one graduate student must be a member of the venture’s startup management team. This competition is for new, independent ventures in the seed, start?up, or early
growth stages.
Award: $60,000 in cash prizes
Application deadline: February 2012
Global Social Entrepreneurship Challenge 2012 (Global)
About: GSEC seeks the most innovative, student-generated social business plans that aim to alleviate a problem(s) of poverty in developing economies.
Participants: GSEC is open to currently enrolled students, in any discipline and level of study, at any academic institution of higher education worldwide.
Award: TBC
Application deadline: November 9, 2011
McGinnis Venture Competition (Global)
About: This competition revolves around new technologies. The driving force is pragmatism: helping MBA students move from the dorm room to the board room, bringing new businesses in emerging industries such as ICT, biotechnology, robotics and nanotechnology to life. The business plan must be for a seed, start-up or early stage venture and must address the entire business concept (including implementation). The competition features three tracks: Technology, Life Science and CleanTech
Participants: MBA students
Award: Opportunity to present before venture capitalists, Cash awards (first prize of $20,000) and in-kind prizes for intellectual property and other legal services
Application deadline: February 2012
Rice University Business Plan Competition (Global)
About: All ventures must be “for profit” entities seeking outside equity capital. The goal of the RBPC is to provide the best overall educational and entrepreneurial experience of any business plan/new venture competition
Participants: Full- and part-time graduate students, not just MBA candidates, enrolled in a university during the academic year 2009-2010. At least one graduate student in the team.
Award: $800,000 in Cash and Prizes
Application deadline: February 2012
Dell Social Innovation Competition (Global)
About: The Dell Social Innovation Competition operates like a business-plan competition, awarding seed funding directly to the student-led venture that best meets the judges’ criteria.The venture should exist primarily to address a significant social problem and must be financially viable.
Participants: Undergraduate and graduate level students from any university or college in the world
Award: TBC
Application deadline: February, 2012
Any competition missing? Email us the details at hello(at)fyse(dot)org
Currently closed Competitions
Asia Moot Corp 2010
About: The competition is for student created, managed, and owned ventures. The competition is for new, independent ventures in the seed, start?up, or early growth stages.
Participants: The competition is for students enrolled in the current academic year and at least one graduate student must be a member of the venture’s startup management team.
Award: Prizes of US$ 7,500 and eligibility to compete at the Global Moot Corp® 2010 competition at the University of Texas at Austinwith up to US$25,000 in total cash prizes.
Application deadline: January 2011
Verizon – Social Entrepreneurship Competition (India)
Website: http://tinyurl.com/325zupe
About: VeriZon is a competition for social entrepreneurship, inviting solutions for some existing problems that can bring about a social change. Ideas for change which may range from for-profit businesses with a strong social responsibility to non-profit models with sustainable revenue generation.
Participants: Open for any students in the US, India and China
Award: Prizes worth INR 1,00,000
Application deadline: August 25th, 2010
Youth Business Development (Global)
Website: http://Youthbusdev.org
About: YBD is a global competition for young entrepreneurs. The competition kicks off with students assembling a core team, identifying an opportunity and submitting a brief write-up of their proposal. The most promising ideas & teams are then paired with Oxford MBA students who jointly develop the ideas into real business plans, submitted for the opportunity to win funding.
Participants: Students between 16-25 are to form groups of 3-5
Award: N/A
Application deadline: April 2011
Queen’s Entrepreneurs’ Competition (The QEC) (Global)
Website: http://www.theqec.com
About: The QEC is the foremost international undergraduate business plan competition in Canada, organised entirely by students.
Participants: Open for undergraduate students from all faculties
Award: $25,000 in cash prizes
Application deadline: 5th November 2010
Rubicon Contest 2011 (Global)
About: From March 1st to the 3rd 2011 the 5th Rubicon Contest will be held on the campus of BiTS Iserlohn, a state approved private university of applied science. This year 24 teams (consisting of 4 students) will discuss and present ideas on the topic “The Future of Mobility”. Contest fee 150€ per person
Participants: Undergraduate and graduate business students from all around the world
Award: n/a
Application deadline: January 24, 2011
The Hult Global Case Challenge (Global)
About: The 2011 Hult Global Case Challenge will be themed around innovations in clean water supply.
Participants: Students from around the world
Award: Water.org will receive the US$1million as a donation with the purpose of enabling the implementation of the ideas developed by the winning student team.
Application deadline: January 14, 2011
Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (Global)
About: Participants will be able to showcase their business plans and entrepreneurial talents on a global stage, attract seed funding to further their business ambitions as well as extend their network of friends and business contacts through the Competition.
Participants: Participants must be undergraduate, college and polytechnic students from around the world
Award: Up to US$60,000 in cash, prizes and business development opportunities. Overseas finalists will receive 5 night hotel stay in Singapore for 2 core team members.
Application deadline: January 31, 2011
Breakthrough Innovation Grant (BIG) competition (Global)
About:the “Breakthrough Innovation Grant” (BIG) competition – the search for the most innovative business idea that can create prosperity in Metro Manila, Philippines. The competition searches for SMEs as well as social entrepreneurs whose ideas can serve as drivers for poverty alleviation. Proposals must be innovative, resourceful, scalable, and fit the particular needs of the Philippines to drive wealth creation.
Participants: Participants from around the world aged 18 years or above
Award: Up to $20,000 USD seed money
Application deadline: March 15, 2011
Oxford University 21st Century Challenge (Global)
About: The Oxford University 21st Century Challenge is an international entrepreneurship competition for bold and innovative business ideas that can help to solve some of the key challenges of the 21st Century.
Participants: Entries are accepted from individuals, teams, new companies, existing companies creating spin-offs, students, scientists, academics and entrepreneurs. Regional, national and international participation is encouraged.
Award: N/A
Application deadline: 2010 deadline TBD
Ignite Clean Energy program (Global)
About: The Ignite Clean Energy (ICE) business plan competition, based in Boston, Massachusetts, is a year long training and competitive forum for entrepreneurs in the clean energy industry.
Participants: An entrant’s business must support a technology, product, or service in the clean energy field and each student team must be comprised of at least two-thirds students.
Award: Cash prizes along with in-kind services such as legal advice, office or incubator space, publicity and marketing, etc.
Application deadline: 2010 deadline TBD
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