Global Student Entrepreneurs Awards (GSEA)
Entrepreneurship is that gene in the economic DNA of a country that promotes growth.
India, a country with 1.3 billion people residing in it; 54% of whom are under 35 years of age, is on the precipice of entering a new age of development. The enterprising youth of the country is poised to be the harbinger of this era that brings employment and economic enhancement to the community.
These young entrepreneurs are fuelled by innovation and new-age design thinking and possess the potential to achieve the impossible. But, that is only possible if they have access to an environment that encourages their dreams.
Enter EO…
Entrepreneur’s Organization is a global consortium of entrepreneurs who help one another achieve success in the various avenues of life and thereby bring about development and growth within their communities.
The Global Student Entrepreneurs Awards (GSEA) is one of the most prominent initiatives by EO that has a positive impact on the community at large and empowers its young minds to excel.
THE HISTORY
The GSEA began at the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business at Saint Louis University in 1998. In its introductory year, the GSEA had participation from student entrepreneurs from Canada, the United States and Mexico.
The premier global program for student entrepreneurs enables them to present their nascent businesses on an international platform whilst earning critical acclaim and recognition from stalwarts of the business realm.
THE MISSION
The main aim of the GSEA has always been to give the student entrepreneurs the ability to accelerate their budding businesses and take them closer to the pinnacle of success, which they achieve by giving the participants access to otherwise impossible accolades and benefits.
THE IMPACT
The competition gives the young entrepreneurs a chance to learn and be inspired by EO members who have traversed their entrepreneurial journeys successfully and are worthy examples to follow. Through this invaluable mentorship program of GSEA, the student entrepreneurs learn how to fine-tune their pitch skills, communicate better, and assess and build upon the feedback they receive.
The entrepreneurs also get to network with their peer entrepreneurs from across the globe and expand their horizons and reach.
Another game-changing benefit of this program is that the participants have the attention of the international media focused on them and their businesses, giving them the much- desired limelight and coverage.
All these benefits are further supplemented by the highly coveted title of the “winner” and the prizes that go along with it, including a massive $25,000 cash prize for the global winner.
EO GURGAON & GSEA
The first-ever GSEA by EO Gurgaon was organized in 2019 and was a resounding success. The winner - Aloe E-Cell, an innovative start-up that created batteries out of Aloe Vera, has achieved multiple professional milestones since their victory, like presenting their business at the headquarters of Google, intel, Nasa, Apple, the Silicon Valley Bank and so on.
The second GSEA held in 20201-21, proved to be an electrifying competition that saw representation from India’s top universities like IIT Delhi, IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, NIT, and more. The participants came from various industries ranging from Agritech and Fintech to Edtech. The competition also saw several female entrepreneurs bring forth their dynamic businesses and impress the judges.
The winner, Paraclete Image Labs, took the competition by storm with their start-up that provides an AI-powered vision assistant to enable the visually impaired to read and learn independently. Today with this feather embellishing their cap, they are on track to achieving their envisioned goals.
GSEA 2021-22.
With more chances at visibility and recognition than ever before, this year’s GSEA promises to be highly exhilarating! Due to a change in the competition’s global rules, South Asia can now send up to 10 candidates to the global round instead of the one they were allowed to until last year. This gives the participating student entrepreneurs a significant impetus to sharpen their pitches and truly give their best for a shot at the global title.
With stakes higher than ever before, EO Gurgaon’s GSEA 2021 received over 315 applications from all over the country. Of them, only 30 were chosen to present their businesses to our panel of esteemed judges in a nail biting semi-final round. Now, there remain 9 finalists who prepare to win over the judges with their passion and determination.
As we set the stage for the GSEA 2021 grand finale, a couple of additions to the prizes has made the competition all the more inviting and enticing. The winner will be awarded a cash prize of 1,80,000 INR along with many in-kind prizes sponsored by ijaipuria, Smartworks and Peak Performers.
The GSEA isn’t simply a competition for student entrepreneurs. It is the first step young entrepreneurs can take to building their business empires, earmarking success as theirs for the taking.
Stay tuned as we march towards the finale of the most enthralling competition of the year. On the 22nd of January 2022, only one shall emerge victor and be hailed the ‘winner of the EO Gurgaon GSEA 2021’!
