Call for Entrants: 2008 Competition
The World's Premier Business Plan Competition for Social Ventures
The Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) is seeking promising social entrepreneurs to enter our 2008 Competition. If you are an entrepreneur (or budding entrepreneur!) with a financially sustainable venture that addresses a social or environmental problem, we encourage you to apply. Winning plans in the past have ranged from global health to microfinance, from cleantech to education, from fair trade to community development, from business concepts to operating companies, and have included for-profit and non-profit models.
- Executive Summaries are due January 16, 2008*
- Full Business Plans for Regional Finals are due February 27-29, 2008*
What is the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC)?
The Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) is the largest and oldest student-led business plan competition providing mentorship, exposure, and financial awards to emerging social ventures from around the world. The GSVC’s mission is to catalyze the creation of social ventures, educate future leaders, and build awareness around social enterprise. The competition supports the creation of real businesses that bring about positive social change in a sustainable manner.
The GSVC is organized by the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley in partnership with Columbia Business School, London Business School, Indian School of Business, and Yale School of Management. The competition is also supported by several outreach partners, including the University of Geneva (Switzerland), ESSEC Business School (France), Thammasat University (Thailand), and a consortium of business schools in Korea. Every year, teams compete for more than $45,000 in cash and travel prizes, while gaining valuable professional feedback on their ventures.
Since its inception in 1999, the GSVC has awarded more than $300,000 to emerging social ventures and has introduced early-stage social entrepreneurs to the investment community. Nearly 25% of past GSVC entrants are now operating companies.
To get involved as a GSVC Entrant, Mentor, Judge, or Sponsor, visit www.gsvc.org.
Compete as an Entrant
If you have an idea for a social venture or have an operating social venture, we encourage you to apply. Individuals or teams of any size from any country are eligible to compete in the GSVC.
Entrant Requirements
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Every team must include at least one member who is a current student in ANY graduate business program or who has graduated from any graduate business program within the past 24 months.
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Operating companies are welcome to enter, though they must be less than 3 years old (as measured by first revenue or first patent issued).
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Plan can be for a for-profit or non-profit as long as either can be financially self-sustaining at scale.
For more details, visit www.gsvc.org.
Social Impact Assessment (SIA) Resources
We recently added new resources to our website on the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) facet of the competition, including videos of workshops and presentations that illustrate social impact assessments in action. To check out these new resources, visit the Social Impact Guides section of the GSVC website.
Key Dates for 2008
- January 16 - Executive Summary Due*
- February 27-29 - Regional Finals Business Plan Due*
- March 7-10 – Regional Finals at Partner Schools**
- April 1 – Global Finals Business Plan Due
- April 17-18 - Global Finals at Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley
- April 19 - GSVC Symposium on Social Entrepreneurship (San Francisco)
* Date applies to entrants submitting executive summaries to Columbia Business School, Haas School of Business, London Business School, or Yale School of Management regional rounds. Please check the Indian School of Business (www.isb.edu/gsvc/) for its competition schedule.
**Dates vary by School. Check with Individual Regional Partner school schedules for exact dates.
Contact:
email: gsvc@haas.berkeley.edu
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