Deadline: 17 February 2012
Open to: Macedonian university students
Prizes: An iPad will be awarded to the winner for first prize for the best business plan
Description
The US Embassy to Macedonia is seeking entries from university students for the Ron Brown Apprentice Program. Through the program, the Embassy invites Macedonian university students to come up with the next Facebook, Apple iPhone, or hybrid car. The program aims to promote entrepreneurism, the development of sound business practices, and the promotion of the free market system in Southeast Europe. The winners of the Macedonian competition will then go on to compete against other students in Bosnia i Herzogovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo in a region-wide competition for the best business plan. The competition is envisioned in the format of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice, in that successful businesspeople in the region will evaluate the projects against one another blindly.
Prizes
- The top 3 submissions of the Ron Brown Apprentice Program contest in Macedonia will travel to Opatija, Croatia to attend the Ron Brown Forum “Economic Opportunities at the Municipal Level”, April 2-4. In Opatija, the students will compete against their counterparts in the region for three prizes.
- An iPad will be awarded to the winner for first prize for the best business plan. An iPhone will be awarded as the second prize, and an iPod will be awarded as the third prize.
Eligibility
Students from ages 18-25 are eligible to submit a business plan. You must be either currently enrolled in an undergraduate program or graduated from an undergraduate program within the last 2 years.
Application
Submissions must be a 1-2 pages’ business abstract, in English; the submission must include a complete budget for the proposed business venture, and from where funds would be solicited for the venture (Investors? Venture capitalists? Private banks? International funds? etc.)
The name of the country should not be mentioned in the abstract. The business plan should be one that can be submitted elsewhere.
Each participant must also submit a CV with basic biographical information – name, age, school/university, email, and phone number.
Business plans must be sent to the U.S. Embassy at ircskopje@t-home.mk with “The Ron Brown Apprentice Program” in the Subject field of the e-mail.
Submissions must be sent to no later than February 17, 2011. A panel of Embassy experts will select the winners for the Macedonian competition, who will be notified by March 1.
Business plan submissions that do not comply with the U.S. Embassy guidelines or contain prohibited, inappropriate, irrelevant, or copied content will be disqualified and removed from the selection process.
If you have questions on the contest, please address them to ircskopje@t-home.mk, subject: “The Ron Brown Apprentice Program.”
