On 21 June 2017, the ColossusINNO2017 global entrepreneurship competition was launched by GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Movement) amidst a mob of media and corporate superstars. First, let’s get to know a little bit about GEM and the awesome work they do:
- GEM is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization.
- GEM’S mission is to democratize entrepreneurship. And by this, they want to create business opportunities for the underdogs – ordinary people like you and me who may have what it takes to become entrepreneurs but do not necessarily have the right support or networks to break the highly competitive global market.
- GEM aims to strategically align the various entrepreneurs’ communities and agencies be it public or private in Malaysia; with the ecosystems in the global marketplace.
- To date, GEM has more than 10,000 affiliate members, 24 corporate members and 18 committee members who are industry leaders, each with prolific achievements in their respective fields of work.
- GEM Champions and GEM City-Chapters consist of ecosystem builders that have direct access to many local communities of entrepreneurs. They actively champion GEM’s programs and objectives. These GEM advocates hail from various cities around Asia including Bangladesh, Bangalore, New Delhi, Guangzhou, Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, and Phnom Penh.
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The global entrepreneurship competition is one of several programs organized by GEM under the Startup and SME Promotion Year (SSPY 2017).
#1 The ColossusINNO2017 is all about finding that one, giant idea.
By its very definition, “colossus” means “much bigger than life size, of enormous size, importance and/or ability.” The competition is the perfect platform to showcase bold, audacious, breakthrough ideas of innovation and disruption that will rapidly transform the ASEAN market as we know it.
#2 Flaunt your innovative muscle for the greater good of ASEAN.
According to founder and patron of GEM Tan Sri Dr. Mohd Irwan Serigar – “ColossusINNO2017 is on the lookout for the next big solutions that will help address the market gaps, which in turn will propel ASEAN nations closer towards first world status – such as innovation in the areas of governance, poverty eradication, education, health, environment and cleanliness.”
#3 USD 100K plus networking opportunities galore!
Besides the startup funding of USD 100K, President of GEM – Dash Dhakshinamoorthy notes that the ColossusINNO2017 will attract top notch startups and ecosystem players from around the world such as accelerators, early stage funders, investors, venture caps, banks, equity funds, business communities and relevant public agencies. There will be copious amounts of opportunities to network and connect with both local and international entrepreneurial boosters. Sounds like a golden opportunity not to be missed!
#4 The phases of the competition.
Submissions are open to challengers from across the world from June 21 to end of October, followed by the announcement of the top ten finalists in November. These finalists will be then invited to present their winning stories to ASEAN and global entrepreneurs, policymakers, industry leaders, investors and other startup community participants at the Global Entrepreneurship Community 2017 (GECommunity 2017). This will also give them an opportunity to connect on a global level via specially-curated programs, designed to build strategic linkages and drive real change.
The winner of ColossusINNO2017 will be announced at the GECommunity 2017 on December 5 and 6 2017, where the winning entrepreneur will receive a cash fund prize worth USD 100,000. Subsequently, the winner will be exposed to a variety of mentorship, resources and skills to aid the growth of the idea, amongst which collaboration with the local government and corporations will be made possible in aiding a stronger market entry.
#5 ColossusINNO2017 boasts an impressive panel of judges.
The great thing about the ColossusINNO2017 is that the competition (via Silicon-Valley-based competition platform, You Noodle) has engaged with an international panel of judges to make an independent selection of the winner based on global requirements. The panel of judges consists of world-class industry leaders and experts, including Director of Global Education at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., Sam Potolicchio, Advisor to the Vice President for the MENA Region at World Bank in Washington D.C., Olivier Lavinal, and Director and Leader of Digital Transformation at Cisco in India, Lux Rao. Together, their expertise will determine the strongest contestant well deserving of the title – ColossusINNO2017 grand champion.
