EO’s Global Student Entrepreneur Awards Debuts Season 3 of International Competition Series

Six episodes in six days! Start it Up six-part docuseries premieres on 28 June on YouTube

25 June 2024, Alexandria, VA: The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO)is proud to announce the premiere of the third season of Start it Up, a series following student entrepreneurs who are competing for global acclaim and awards on 28 June at 12pm Eastern Time (ET), 6pm Central European Summer Time (CEST) on GSEA’s YouTube channel. ‘Start it Up’ is a six-part docuseries produced by EO which travels around the world to spotlight some of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs building businesses while enrolled in university studies. This unique series takes a closer look at the lives of the student entrepreneurs in the final stage of EO’s Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) --from semi-finalists to finalists-- and the stories behind their innovative and inspiring start-up businesses.

2024 marks the 18th year that EO has hosted the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards. This year, the top finalists are from 16 countries around the world, including Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mexico, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States. The students' businesses represent diverse industries, including AI, medicine, agriculture, computer science, and financial services.

Students are scored with 70 percent weighting on the individual entrepreneur’s vision, grit and values, and 30 percent on the business concept and strength. That means, GSEA is uniquely placed to identify the entrepreneurial spirit and qualities that will enable young business founders to adapt, excel and remain focused in the years to come.

Tamarin Morrell, EO’s Director of the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards said, “What makes GSEA and Start it Up so special is that we are one of only a handful of competitions that reward students for who they are, not what they do. EO’s unique positioning as a truly global organization enables us to search all four corners of the globe to find those one-of-a-kind business builders that have the tenacity to continue, no matter what life throws at them.”

To compete, students from 34 countries began pitching their businesses nearly a year ago to established EO members in 89 chapters. Local winners moved on to the Global Quarter Finals – hosted regionally. Throughout the process, each student received mentorship from local EO members to support them throughout the competition. From 1,357 student applicants, only 62 students made it to the Global Quarter-Finals, and just 20 advanced to the Semi-Finals. The semi-finalists then competed for a place to be among the top six finalists. The top 20 student entrepreneurs and their businesses are featured in the Start It Up series.

Semi-Finalists during the recording of Start It Up in Cape Town

Episodes of the six-part series will air daily from Friday, 28 June, to Wednesday, 3 July, at 12pm ET, 6pm CEST. The Global Champion of EO’s 2024 Global Student Entrepreneur Awards will be announced during the series season finale on YouTube on Wednesday, 3 July. Start It Up was recorded in May, and the Global Finals took place in Cape Town, South Africa. The winner will receive a flexible cash prize of US$50,000, funded by the non-profit EO. The runner-up and third-place competitors will receive US$25,000 and US$15,000, respectively.

The students participating in the global finals received mentoring from EO members worldwide helping them move forward in the competition and scale their business.

“Interacting with studentpreneurs and EO members from around the globe was incredibly enriching. The life lessons, innovative ideas and stories of resilience I encountered were profoundly inspiring. There was so much to take back from this experience, and it has left a lasting impression on me,” said Ayush Bansal, EO Gurgaon member mentor, during the Global Finals.

“The past week with all of you (students and fellow mentors) has been an absolute rollercoaster- easily the best ride in the “EO theme park” so far… . The lessons learned were more enlightening than a TED Talk marathon,” shared Arshad Bholim, EO Uganda member mentor.

Who will take this year’s title? Tune into GSEA’s YouTube channel on 28 June at 12pm ET, 6pm CEST, to follow the journey of this year’s top student entrepreneurs.

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

Photos and logos available upon request

About EO

The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) is the world’s largest membership network exclusively by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs everywhere. Since 1987, EO has been supporting the world’s leading builders of business to realize more of their potential by fostering connections, applying leadership skills, and creating belonging across industries and borders. More than 19,000 entrepreneurs in 80+ countries make up EO’s network of leaders, who enjoy local and global membership experiences that go beyond the business to support the whole entrepreneur. For more information or to get involved, please visit www.eonetwork.org

About GSEA

The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards is the premier global competition for university students. Each year, more than 1,000 student entrepreneurs from 34 countries compete for the title of Global Champion and the chance to build their business and gain recognition for their innovation. GSEA is designed to inspire students to stretch themselves as the future’s leading entrepreneurs and bring their businesses greater global visibility. GSEA was founded at the John Cook School of Business at Saint Louis University in 1998. Since that time, GSEA strives to honour those students who achieve so much as both students simultaneously attending university full-time and running their own businesses. To maximize student experiences and give them access to a global network of mentors, resources and business connections, EO took on leadership of the GSEA in 2006. For more information visit: https://www.gsea.org/

GSEA 2024 by the numbers:

1,357 total student applications were received across EO chapters and Friends of GSEA program worldwide.

  • Asia Pacific Region – 113
  • Europe – 111
  • Latin America and the Caribbean –141
  • Middle East, Pakistan and Africa – 292
  • North and South Asia – 533
  • United States and Canada –167