Gist Net: GIST Tech-I Pitch Competition 2016 Launches At GES 2016

The GIST (Global Innovation through Science and Technology) Tech-I Pitch Competition Finals will take place on Thursday, June 23, and Friday, June 24, 2016, during the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) to be held June 22-24 at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. Twenty-nine emerging entrepreneurs from around the world will compete for a chance to win US$ 70,000 in cash and additional prizes. The GIST Tech-I Pitch Competition seeks to empower young innovators through networking, skills-building, mentoring, and access to financing to develop startup solutions that address their economic and development challenges. Tech-I Pitch Competition finalists are divided into two groups: those with ventures in the idea stage and those in the start-up stage. Finalists will attend two days of intensive preparation in advance of the GES on how to grow their business and perfect their pitch, led by the U.S. Department of State's implementing partner, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, with training provided by DoubleNova. As part of their participation in GES, they will also attend GES+ a day focused on youth and women entrepreneurs, which will provide opportunities to network with GES attendees and consult with mentors. Over 1,000 applications Competition Finals were chosen from over 1,000 applications submitted by science and technology entrepreneurs in 135 emerging economies. This is the sixth Tech-I Pitch Competition that has been hosted at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, and will include GIST Tech-I alumni from previous years, who will serve in a mentorship role. The award ceremony will be hosted by Dan Price, CEO of Gravity Payments. Many past winners of GIST Tech-I prizes at GES have used their capital prize funds to take their projects to the next level. 2015 GIST Tech-I Outstanding Female Entrepreneur Mojisola Ojebode used her prize to purchase land in Nigeria to grow lemongrass which she uses in here eco-friendly pesticide product Bioxin. The 2015 GIST Tech-I First Place Startup, Carlos Francisco Bernal Velazquez from Mexico, used his prize to bring his GlucosAlarm prototype to the pre-manufacture stage. 2014 GIST Tech-I Second Place Startup Mawano Kambeau was able to secure a $500,000 investment after GIST Tech-I and now has the fastest growing e-commerce company in Zambia.2014 GIST Tech-I Honorable Mention in Agriculture, Juan Carlos Guaqueta's startup, AcuaCare, was selected by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as one of the 16 most innovative startups in Latin America. Originally published at Digjitale.image url: https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*uugDgEc25A-sVHEY.jpg