Deadline: 9 November 2011
Open to: Students with social and innovative business ideas to reduce poverty and affect positive social change in developing economies
Prizes: Up to $30,000 in monetary prizes, participation on GSEC Week in Seattle, Washington (travel scholarships for the semi-final teams)
Description
The Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC) is a leading-edge international social venture plan competition, where interdisciplinary student teams from around the world propose creative, commercially viable businesses aimed at reducing poverty in the developing world.
From innovative sanitation solutions in Kenya, to solar-powered modular power generators in Papua New Guinea, to prick-less anemia scanners in India, GSEC business plans demonstrate the power of business to create sustainable, positive change to some of the world’s most challenging social problems.
Contest
GSEC is the place for students to learn about harnessing the power of commercial strategies to reduce poverty and affect positive social change in developing economies.
Up to $30,000 in monetary prizes are awarded to semi-finalist teams that develop businesses with the most innovative solutions to problems of poverty and the best integration of financial and social returns on investment. Prizes include GSEC grand, global health, and Information & Communications Technology (ICT) prizes.
Throughout the process – from application to GSEC Week – students receive expert guidance, refine their business skills, develop their networks, and gain access to new resources.
Each year, 15-20 semi-finalist student teams worldwide are selected from the applicant pool, paired with mentors and are invited to participate in GSEC Week, February 27 – March 2, 2012, in Seattle, Washington, USA. Through exposure to iconic global companies, a vibrant international development sector, leading research institutions, GSEC Week provides exclusive opportunities for semi-finalist teams to benefit from invaluable resources and expertise in the Seattle region.
Prizes
GSEC prizes are awarded to the most innovative business plans that meet the GSEC judging criteria and demonstrate the best integration of financial and social returns on investment.
In 2011, GSEC awarded the following prizes:
- $12,500 – Grand Prize
- $10,000 – Information Communication & Technology (ICT) prize, sponsored by Microsoft
- $10,000 – Global Health prize, sponsored by the UW Department of Global Health
- $1,000 – Seattle Rotary prize, sponsored by Seattle Rotary.
- NCIIA Invention to Venture workshop scholarships (only US teams are eligible)
Travel scholarships are available for qualifying 2012 international GSEC teams, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
To find out more about the prizes and confidentiality, please click here.
Eligibility
– GSEC seeks the most innovative, student-generated social business plans that aim to alleviate a problem(s) of poverty in developing economies (Eligible countries are low income, lower middle income, or upper middle income economies, based on the country classification by the World Bank Country Lending Groups).
– GSEC is open to currently enrolled students, in any discipline and level of study, at any academic institution of higher education worldwide.
– Multi-disciplinary teams are strongly encouraged. Teams may be comprised of students from difference academic institutions (maximum number of people in 1 team is 3).
– Plans must clearly demonstrate the social impact and calculate the Social Return on Investment (SROI) and provide a social impact assessment. GSEC business plans may focus on any subject area.
– GSEC business plans are evaluated on three criteria: 1) Effect on the quality of life and poverty alleviation in one or more developing economies; 2) Financial sustainability; 3) Feasibility of implementation (In addition to the three GSEC judging criteria, GSEC applications are evaluated in terms of geographic and business sector diversity).
To find out more about rules and eligibility, please click here.
How to apply?
In order to apply, you need to fill in the online application form (found here) where you need to include the following items:
– Business summary: Concise summary of the business idea (250 words maximum)
– Innovation: How does the business idea demonstrate an innovative solution to a problem of poverty in a developing country(s)? (300 words maximum)
– Funding: Describe any funding your team has received to date, if applicable. (Note: existing businesses are eligible for GSEC if they do NOT have outside private financing or annual/cumulative sales revenue. (300 words maximum)
– Financial summary: Provide a financial summary of the business (400 words maximum)
– Social Impact summary: Provide a summary of the business’ social impact, including quantitative and qualitative analysis, such as narratives and Social Return on Investment summaries. (200-500 words)
– Environmental impact summary (if applicable): Provide a summary of the environmental impact of the business.
– The Company (500 maximum): Describe how your company is organized, what is its stage of development, stage of product creation, legal status, company mission, time frame for reaching major milestones/goals?; Describe any partnerships that could further the success and sustainability of the business
– The Concept (700 words maximum): Explain the background of your company, how the product/service was developed, how the market opportunity was recognized, how the plan will solve the problem/what barriers does the proposed solution address?; Explain the company’s plans for scale
– Market Opportunity (600 words maximum): What problem does the company’s product/service solve? What is the target market? What market trends exist?
– Competitive analysis (400 words maximum): Indicate why your company can compete successfully, list important distinctions such as patents, major contracts, and letters-of-intent; specify barriers-to-entry for new competitors.
– Product/service (500 words maximum): Describe the business’s product or services
– Management Team (200 words maximum): Describe the background and capabilities of your key managers, and relevant past successful experiences
To find out more about application requirements, please click here. The deadline for the application is 9 November 2011.
Application review and selection process
- The GSEC application is an overview of the business idea.
- Applications go through two rounds of reviews between November-December 2011 to determine the semi-finalist GSEC teams.
- All entrants will be notified of their application status by December 30, 2011.
- Semi-finalist teams are selected and paired with mentors by December 30, 2011.
- All semi-finalist teams travel to Seattle, Washington for GSEC Week, February 27 – March 2, 2012
Contacts
University of Washington
Foster School of Business
Global Business Center
E-mail: uwciber@uw.edu
Tel.: (206) 685-3432