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Apply! Global Social Venture Competition 2019
The Global Social Venture Competition seeks to support the most promising early-stage for-profit or nonprofit solutions that address the world’s most pressing social challenges using technology*. According to GSVC, successful ventures show the highest, most integrated financial and social and/or environmental returns, demonstrating “blended value”.
The Global Social Venture Competition leads entrant teams through an experiential learning process to develop innovative, scalable solutions to the world’s greatest challenges. Through their global network of 14 partner schools and competitions, GSVC gives teams the connections, support, and exposure needed to advance their social ventures.
Each of the competition’s three rounds also asks teams to build on past learnings and focus on distinct emphasis areas. A team’s ability to demonstrate progress in these areas will be an important determinant of its venture’s overall score, which in every round is evaluated on business potential, social impact potential, and the likelihood of success.
Benefits
- First Place Award: $40,000
- Second Place Award: $25,000
- Third Place Award: $10,000
- Priya Haji Memorial Award: $2,500
- People’s Choice Award: $1,500
- Quick Pitch Award: $1,000
- Global Networks
- Connect With Pioneers In Social Entrepreneurship And Impact Investing
- Make Real World Impact
Eligibilities
- Submitted ventures should aim to be: financially sustainable or profitable; whether it is a for-profit, non-profit, or hybrid business model, your venture must aim to be self-sufficient on earned revenue.
- Ventures should include a technology component, whether a technology-based solution or a technology component is utilized to address the solution. In this instance, technology is defined very broadly. Eligible ventures should include products and services developed from the application of scientific knowledge. This may involve software, hardware as well as other devices and products. The technology can be manifest in the product or service itself, or be the way in which the product or service is delivered.
- Submitted ventures should be scalable long term. This criterion will mean different things for each business. Scalability will take into account the potential for growth of the business, both financially and in its social impact.
- Submitted ventures must have a quantifiable social and/or environmental bottom line incorporated into their mission and practices.
- Your entry must include a financial analysis as well as a Social Impact Assessment (SIA), including the Social Value Proposition and Social Indicators. Learn more on the SIA page of the website.
- Submitted ventures must be less than 2 years old (with the start of the venture marked by incorporation or first income, whichever occurred first) as of December 31, 2018.
- Submitted ventures may not be a wholly owned subsidiary of an existing entity (of either a for-profit or nonprofit entity).
- Submitted ventures must not have received more than $250,000 in funding from venture capital, private investors, grants (government or foundation), loans, or other funding sources (excluding in-kind) as of December 31, 2018.
- Lifetime revenue should not exceed $500,000 as of December 31, 2018.
- GSVC has the right to investigate funding and qualifications of ventures to assure that they are truly early stage.
Eligibility Requirements for Teams
- Your team must include a student, current or recent graduate*, from any level of higher education (undergraduate, masters level/graduate, or doctoral) in any area of study in the world;
*Recent students must meet the following criteria:
- Recent Bachelor’s degree holders must have completed their degree with four (4) years of the application deadline (December 31, 2018).
- Recent Master’s or Doctoral level degree holders must have completed their degree within two (2) years of the application deadline (December 31, 2018).
- The student or recent student must be actively involved in the venture (i.e., a founder or co-founder, actively participating in the development of the business or actively working on the business).
- Your team should include a statement describing the student’s level of involvement.
- The student or recent student must be one of the team’s presenters and must be available to answer judges’ questions regarding the business in the final two rounds of the competition.
Other Qualifications
- A team cannot enter the competition more than twice.
- Teams that have competed at the Global Finals may not enter more than once; Regional Partners may put additional limits on the number of times that a team may compete at the regional level.
- All submissions and presentations for the Global Finals round must be in English. Questions from the judges during the Global Finals may be translated from English to the team’s native language but should be answered in English.
Eligible Regions: Open for All
Application Process
- Apply online through the given link.
- Teams may only apply through one regional competition.
- Teams should select their country based on where the majority of team members reside and are working on the business (for example, if you are a current student at UC Berkeley, but working on a business idea in India, please select the United States as your country and apply through the Americas Round).
- Each regional competition will conduct the judging and evaluation process for the first two rounds.
- Up to two teams will be selected from each regional round to compete at the Global Finals.
- Applications must be submitted in English, unless otherwise noted.
- Please review the GSVC eligibility guidelines to determine if your team is eligible to enter the competition and review the deliverables for each round.
- Find others who are interested in forming a team to enter GSVC, please visit the official website.
Application Deadline: December 3, 2018 (70 Days Remaining)
