Global Social Venture Competition
The Global Social Venture Competition [GSVC] is an innovative partnership between Columbia Business School*, the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, London Business School, and the Indian School of Business. The competition aims to foster a new generation of business leaders that values the social as well as the profit potential of business. It achieves this goal by catalyzing and promoting for-profit and not-for-profit ventures that create and measure both social and financial returns.
Winning ventures have included an alternative energy company, a manufacturer of stylish women’s apparel and accessories, a nonprofit charter school, an environmentally friendly manufacturing technology company, a microfinance enterprise focused on the developing world, and a community-employment enterprise operating in rural and low-income urban areas.
Venture teams must include at least one current MBA student, and all competing ventures must have been in operation for less than three years. Substantial cash awards are distributed to winning ventures each year.
*The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center and Columbia Business School wishes to thank Milestone Venture Partners for their generous support of our regional process.
2012 Submission Guidelines and Deadlines:
Specific rules and submission guidelines can be found on the GSVC official website. For more information please contact: Lauren Strange, Associate Director, at 212.854.5413 or ls2858@columbia.edu.
2011-2012 Competition Dates
October 27, 2011
GSVC Info Session
12:30-1:30PM - Uris 140
Watch the video recording of this session.
January 25, 2012
GSVC Executive Summaries deadline. Submit via www.gsvc.org.
January 27, 2012
GSVC Prep Workshop
10:00-3:30PM
*optional event for competitors
February 15, 2012
GSVC First Draft Business Plan Deadline
February 22, 2012
GSVC Student Judging Round
6:00 - 8:00PM
*attendance by judges only
March 14, 2012
GSVC Semifinalist Business Plan deadline
March 23, 2012
GSVC Regional SemiFinals
*attendance by judges only
April 19 - 21, 2012
GSVC Finals and Symposium
Haas School of Business - Berkeley, California
