The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards is a competition for students who actively run businesses. It’s organized by the Entrepreneurs Organization (EO).
EO is a peer to peer network for entrepreneurs, with over 12,000 members in 53 countries. It is inviting students from all over the world to apply for 2018’s student entrepreneurs competition.
One Kenyan female student was among the global finalists of the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards 2017. You can have a look at the rest of them and where they came from.
The global finals will be held in April 2018 in Toronto, Canada. For the successful applicants, all expenses towards the trip will be catered for.
Student entrepreneurs will benefit from the opportunity to connect with others, access resources such as mentorship towards growth of their business and prize money on offer. The winner of Global Student Entrepreneur Awards 2018 will receive sh.2 million ($20,000) in prize money. The second and third, respectively, will receive sh.1 million ($10,000) and sh,500,000 ($5,000).
READ: KENYAN WOMEN UNDER 25 TELL YOU ABOUT THE BUSINESSES THEY STARTED
Additional awards will be given for social impact, innovation and lessons from the edge. There will also be donated business products and services for the finalists.
Eligibility
- You must be enrolled in college or university as an undergraduate student, part-time or full-time (graduate students can only apply if they have no taken more than 12-months break after undergrad program)
- You must be principally responsible for business operations as owner, founder or controlling shareholder (only one representative per business is allowed)
- Business must have existed for at least 6 months before application with at least sh.50,000 ($500) in revenue or sh.100,000 ($1,000) in investment
- Age cap for participation is 35 years
The judging criteria will put both student entrepreneur and business on the spotlight.
Some of the questions you will need to answer are: Does student demonstrate spirit of entrepreneurship, such as overcoming challenge? How effectively is she/he integrating 2 roles in life, student and entrepreneur? Does student demonstrate thirst for learning about business, seeking advice? How is student making a mark, innovation/impact?
On business evaluation, some questions are: How strong are the business fundamentals, is there information on growth, revenue and profit? Is business vision communicated well? Does business show strong potential?
Visit the Official Webpage to apply. Good luck!