The Global Social Venture Competition is a global network of volunteer judges, mentors, and student organizers providing aspiring entrepreneurs with mentoring, exposure, and funding to transform their ideas into business with positive, real-world impact.
Founded by MBA students at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) has evolved into a global network supported by an international community of volunteer judges, mentors, and student organizers. This partnership between premier business schools in the US, Europe, Asia, and Africa aims to foster a new generation of business leaders that value the social and profit potentials of business. The GSVC achieves this goal by catalyzing and promoting for-profit and not-for-profit ventures that create and measure both social and financial returns.
Georgia Tech is a Full Regional Partner for the Global Social Venture Competition. Supported by the Institute for Leadership and Social Impact, the Georgia Tech graduate chapter of Net Impact coordinates the regional competition for teams from the eastern half of the United States. Advancing teams will compete in the Global Finals, which will be hosted in Milan, Italy this year.
The Global Social Venture Competition provides aspiring entrepreneurs with mentoring, exposure, and $80,000 in prizes to transform their ideas into businesses that will have
News & Testimonials
Congratulations to Magnomer and Key2enable for being the two global finalists from the Eastern Region!
Magnomer: Magnomer introduces a novel design of plastic packaging by application of magnetic ink which enables higher recyclability and alleviates environmental impact.
Key2enable: Key2enable uses experimental technologies to give autonomy and possibility to people with motor and intellectual disabilities all around the world.
Testimonials from Last Years Finalists
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"The GSVC competition added tremendous value to our understanding of the social entrepreneurship space. We met countless teams who, like us, were also working to improve global conditions and learning more about their projects was inspiring."
-Street Smarts VR
"Along with the second place award, we are thankful for the connections formed with extraordinary entrepreneurs from around the world and continued conversations with experts in social innovation and building successful startups."
Our Team |
Student Leadership Team
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Rules |
Eligibility Rules and Guidelines for 2018-2019 GSVC awards prizes to the social venture teams that show the highest, most integrated financial and social returns – businesses that demonstrate blended value. Eligibility Requirements for Ventures
Eligibility Requirements for Teams
Other qualifications
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Sponsors |
SponsorsSouthern Company: ![]() Mosley Ventures: ![]() Invested Development: ![]() Hands On Atlanta: Georgia Tech Support Provided By
Scheller College of Business:
Eugenia & Brian CayceKatherine BeachamJulius Gebhard-KoenigsteinSam MossJay Cranman |
Contact Us |
Contact UsEmail: Georgia Institute of Technology |
FAQ |
Understand the CompetitionFor a comprehensive breakdown of rules, requirements, eligibility, etc. visit www.GSVC.org Please note, the FAQs below apply to the 2019 GSVC competition and may not be entirely up-to-date. Please monitor this page for updated information. Q: What defines a “social venture”? A: There are many definitions of “social venture.” For the Competition, a social venture is defined as a business that:
Q: What evaluation criteria will be used? A: Plans will be judged according to the feasibility of the business concept, as well as the feasibility and scope of the venture’s stated social and/or environmental purpose. For more information, please see Q: Can one be eliminated from the Competition in the executive summary round? A: Yes. The executive summary is an elimination round if you submit your Executive Summary to the GSVC web site. The Indian School of Business held an optional executive summary round for ventures from Asia. Q: How many plans will make it to the final round? A: Each Regional Partner competition will send two finalists to the Global Finals. Q: How many teams from one program or university may enter? A: There are no limits to the number of applicants from a particular program or university. Q: Can a team enter other business plan competitions? A: Yes. We encourage every team to enter as many competitions as possible. This helps you continue to refine your business plan and your determination is a great indicator of future business success. Q. How do I know where to send my executive summary or business plan? A. Each Regional and Outreach Partner School manages its own round. Please visit “The Competition” section for details on regions and deadlines. Please submit your entry based on the region you are from, not where your company is located (i.e., if you are a graduate student from Northwestern University, but are working on a business idea in India, you will submit your entry to the US round). Submit an Executive Summary and/or Request a Mentor.Q: Can I submit my full plan if I don’t enter an executive summary? A: No, you must submit an executive summary. The strongest executive summaries will be invited to submit a full business plan. These ventures will also be matched with a mentor. Q: How do I submit an executive summary? A: We will be using a new platform to submit executive summaries this year. Details will be announced shortly. A: Teams will receive comments and feedback by mail, fax or e-mail. Q: Can you connect me with a mentor? A: We are happy to facilitate a working relationship between entrants and venture capitalists, academics, or other professionals with relevant business or social venture expertise. In the past, mentors have assisted teams with writing the business plan, calculating social return on investment, and presenting ideas to potential investors. If you would like us to connect you with a mentor, please reach out to us and we will do our best to match your team with a mentor whose industry experience and skills complement those of the team and its business plan. Enter the Competition.Q: Do you have any information about how to write a business plan? A: Yes. Take a look at our resources. Q: How do I submit my business plan? A: Please refer to the submission requirements for your managing school. Q: Does the business plan page restriction (25 pages) include the appendix? A: The Business Plan must be limited to 25 pages (typed and double-spaced, #12 font, and 1-inch margins) of text, charts, and diagrams. This includes financials or other appendices which are limited to 5 pages Q: Are resumes mandatory for Advisory Board members? A: No. However, resumes are useful in showing how the advisor’s skills relate to the industry, market, strategy, operations, etc. of the product/service you are pitching. The same might be accomplished with a summary about who the advisors are and how their knowledge is relevant or how it fills gaps on the management team. Q: Can resumes exceed one page? A: Resumes should be limited to ONE page per team member. Q: Should there be a link between the discount rates for FROI and SROI? A: There is no inherent link between SROI and FROI rates, although the business’s fortunes impact both measurements. The SROI discount rate should represent the risk or uncertainty inherent in the assumptions about returns. Please see Social Impact Assessment Guide III for more information on calculating SROI. Submit your business plan for final rounds of judging.Q: Do I submit both electronic and paper copies of my business plan for the semi-final and final rounds? A: Your managing school will communicate submission guidelines before the semi-final and final rounds. Q: Do I make edits to my plan between the semi-final and final rounds? A: Entrants are expected to modify their plans between rounds, although they may not be able to do everything the feedback suggests. Q: Do I need to present my business plan if I make it to the final round? A: Yes, you must present your business plan in person to a panel of judges. The dates for the Global Finals event at UC Berkeley are available on the website.
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