World Cup for Entrepreneurs! An opportunity for startups to scale globally

Nearly 100,000 people from over 100 countries are in the grip of the World Cup fever. Training is on in full swing, competitors are sharpening their skills, and their sights are set on the big prize.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that we’re talking about the ICC Cricket World Cup scheduled to take place later in June. In fact, we are talking about the Entrepreneurship World Cup, which holds the same value for entrepreneurs as the ICC event does for cricket enthusiasts.

There is a common element between the two. While the Cricket World Cup will see the battle being fought by men and women wielding willow and leather on pitches in England, the Entrepreneurship World Cup will also see pitches, albeit on stage with founders competing with each other for the best business pitch.

The EWC is much more than just a global pitch competition. It is a global platform for entrepreneurs to grow their business and to take it to the next stage through a continuous focus on training, tools and resources, advice and networking opportunities.

This is the first edition of the event that has been crafted by the MiSK Foundation, a global non-profit working to cultivate learning and leadership among youth.

Who can participate?

Any startup from any sector at any stage, be it idea, early stage or growth stage, can take part in EWC.

How can you apply?

Step one is to register on the GEN Platform, where entrepreneurs will have access to a content library with pitch samples and classes on multiple topics, which will help prepare them for the competition.

The deadline for registration and submission of the final application is June 15.

To submit the final application, entrepreneurs will be directed to an evaluation platform called YouNoodle. Once they complete the application process here, the entrepreneurs would have entered the EWC competition and will be on their way to competing for a spot on the global stage.

Constant training at every stage

The first stage of EWC consists of a series of educational virtual training opportunities for startups meant to sharpen handy business skills such as customer and industry knowledge and problem-solving. In the second stage, the national-level competitions taking place simultaneously in 100 countries will see their top teams selected and awarded, and get to go to the next round. The winners of the national round are imparted more training and get direct one-on-one mentorship to prepare for the global finals scheduled to be held in November 2019. The global finalists will be trained, given access to investors and compete on stage with their perfect business pitch.

Coming soon to a city near you

The EWC regional competitions will be held in the last week of July through to August and will be hosted by 6 partners: 

• AIC-SMUTB will host the Sikkim Regional Event 
• 36Inc will host the Raipur Regional Event
• BIMTECH, will host the Delhi Regional Event
• E-Cell, IIT Bombay will host the Regional in Mumbai
• J&K EDI will host the Jammu & Kashmir Regional 
• WeWorkLabs will host the Bangalore Regional event. 

Promoting innovation and entrepreneurship among youngsters

EWC India is a collaborative initiative with MiSK and GEN as global partners, The Global Education & Leadership Foundation (tGELF) as national organiser, and Atal Innovation Mission as ecosystem enabler through both regional and national competitions to find India’s top entrepreneurs. The regional competitions will be held in July in multiple locations across the country, and top teams from this round will participate in the national finals in August.

An initiative of the Nand and Jeet Khemka Foundation, tGELF has played a vital role in developing and supporting the Indian innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. They have worked closely with the Government of India’s NITI Aayog and the United States Department of State to organize the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad, as well as partnered with Facebook to launch the Shuruaat Bus, a physical bus that travelled to over 14 cities, 50 institutions and impacted over 100,000 young entrepreneurs.

They also partnered with Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide, a 100-year-old global non-profit, to bring entrepreneurial programmes to schools and encourage innovation from a young age.

What’s in it for entrepreneurs?

While the experience of participating in EWC is enough to add value to any business in itself, with its focus on training, improvement, mentorship and resources, there’s a lot more on offer for those to go on to emerge as winners – close to $5 million worth in prizes in all – with dozens of cash prizes, investment opportunities and resources and perks from leading programme partners. These include:

• 3 global grand prizes for the three stages, early, idea, and growth
• 15 global finalist-stage prizes, Including industry-specific and social enterprise prizes
• 100 national prizes (one for every participating country)
• Open stage for all investors to offer deals.

This is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs in India looking to showcase their startups on a global stage and to take them to the next level.

Visit entrepreneurshipworldcup.com to know more about EWC and apply to the programme. Hurry, last date to apply for EWC India is June 15.

For more information about the India competition, do write in to [email protected]