Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC)

The Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition, GSEC, is an international student social business plan competition that challenges university-level students worldwide to use business principles to create sustainable, positive solutions to some of the world’s most challenging issues – poverty, health and development. Semi-finalist student teams from around the globe are invited to Seattle to present their ideas to coaches, mentors and judges and compete to win prizes.

Tom Jensen and Enterprise Futures Network is very involved in GSEC.  Enterprise Futures encourages entrepreneurship by supporting university business plan competitions and entrepreneurial programs. EFN’s participants serve as mentors for university business plan competitions and other university entrepreneurial programs, such as classes and academies throughout the U.S.

In addition to the chance to win cash and in-kind prizes, GSEC provides teams an unparalleled experiential learning opportunity – meeting and competing against top students from around, the world, coaching and mentoring from health, development and business professionals, exposure to an extensive network of professionals and companies, and the chance to present to judges and investors.

For the 2013 competition, John Locher has volunteered his time as a mentor for Eccolizer.  They offer a hyper-efficient, lower-cost, patented, and Ecco-friendly fertilizer.  It is mainly prepared from sugarcane bagasse-a waste product.  They are located in Bangladesh where, due to inefficient farming methods, 40% or 60 million people are starving.  In the first year of operation, they are targeting around 5000 villages in the northern region. Expansion into India and other markets will follow.  According to Bangladesh Fertilizer Association, every year the country imports around 3 million tons of chemical fertilizers, while the total annual demand of fertilizer is around 7 million tons. Eccolizer plans to meet the demand deficit in this market with its cheap, more effective, and environmentally friendly product.  Eccolizer enjoys both a price and patented production process advantage over all competitors. Eccolizer’s product is $40 per ton verses $660 to $250 per ton for conventional product.

Eccolizer poster

Sponsors

GSEC would not be possible without the support of its sponsors who help make the competition a reality. Please join us in thanking them!
Prize Sponsors

Additional Sponsors

Partners We are grateful for the support of our partners who join our quest for student-generated innovative and financially feasible solutions to global poverty: