Competition | gazaabsocialventures

The Gazaab Competition

Gazaab Social Ventures regularly conducts business plan competitions where we award winners with an investment and a business coaching support package. A 5-day competition, participants will be able to interact with successful local entrepreneurs, be equipped with business skills such as financial planning, marketing, business plan writing and more. It will be a challenging event for all aspiring entrepreneurs looking to gain investment.

Gazaab Interprise @ Small World Entrepreneur Creation ChallengeDetails The Gazaab Interprise @ Small World Entrepreneur Creation Challenge is a 5-day workshop designed to help anyone with the passion and motivation to succeed as an entrepreneur. Over the 5-day program, participants will interact with successful local entrepreneurs who came from humble beginnings, be equipped with essential entrepreneurial skills, interact with fellow participants who share the same goals, and be empowered with tools and resources including funding to start their own businesses. We are looking for passionate, motivated and committed individuals who want to change their lives, the state of their society, and help the world become a better place. Winners of the competition will be awarded total prize money of USD $1000 (1st place $500, 2nd place $300, 3rd place $200) and offered a further investment opportunity up to $9,000 by local investors.

Organizing Partners

Gazaab Social Ventures is a Micro-social Venture Capital Fund that is dedicated to the creation and support of social entrepreneurs at the bottom of the pyramid. We believe that nurturing these entrepreneurs and their micro-enterprises will generate significant economic growth and employment in the local communities.

Interprise, created by Fulbright Scholar Kym Cole, fosters international collaboration for enterprise development in Cambodia. Kym won the Institute of International Education’s New Leaders Group Award for Mutual Understanding for Interprise.

SmallWorld Cambodia is a collaborative workspace for passionate, idea-driven youth. It is the heart of locally-led entrepreneurship in Phnom Penh and home to several dozen startups, including the highly successfully Codingate.

Summary

Place: Phnom Penh

Venue: Small World

Date: 17th-21st March, 2014

Time: 8am-5pm

Eligibility:

- Cambodian citizen

- Preferably lives within Phnom Penh

- Able to commit to all timings and requirements of the competition

- Has passion for social entrepreneurship

Language

GI@SW is inclusive and meant to be accessible to all with the passion of entrepreneurship. Therefore, we make it a point to ensure the event will be 100% accessible in Khmer. Only a select few segments of the event will be conducted in English and we will have translators on hand and khmer language documents will be provided to anyone who needs it for such segments. Most of the event would be held in Khmer. If language is a concern to you, it shouldn’t be.

Participating local entrepreneurs

Throughout the course of the competition, you will have the opportunity to connect with prominent local Cambodian entrepreneurs whose valuable experiences will be essential to the growth and validation of your businesses. If they are aptly impressed by your passion and idea, they might just become your personal mentor!

Chy Sila

Mr Chy is a tremendously successful young Khmer entrepreneur. He founded his first business in 1998 with seed funding of just $500. He then went on to found leading food and beverage company, CBM Corporation in 2002, which manages brands including BB World, Pizza World, and T&C. Next, Mr. Chy co-founded Sabay Digital Corporation, a publisher of online entertainment. Mr. Chy also initiated the environmental cleanup campaign Let’s Do It! Phnom Penh.

Din Somethearith

Mr. Din is the Co-Founder and CEO of Frangipani Villa Hotels, founded in 2007, and now boasting eight hotels in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Mr. Din orginiated from humble beginnings, but his dedication to education and ardent passion ensured his ultimate success. Mr. Din is an inspirational entrepreneur who simultaneously champions social welfare, the environment, and economic empowerment.

Rithy Thul

Rithy Thul is a serial entrepreneur and a start-up business promoter in Cambodia. He is a cofounder of SmallWorld Cambodia, a collaborative workspace for passionate, idea-driven youth. Rithy is also a key founding partner of Khmer Talks, Toursanak and Codingate. He brings extensive entrepreneurial experience and an invaluable understanding of the cultural context to GI@SW.

Sok Sopheakmonkol

Monkol is a new generation Cambodian entrepreneur with a passion for social enterprise and creating educational opportunities for progressive Cambodian youth. He is the co-founder and CEO of Codingate, a Phnom Penhbased tech venture company and co-founder of CoEnlight, an innovative platform for skills-based education. His personal mission is to put good educational principles into practice so that Cambodian youth will find greater levels of happiness and a higher quality of life.

Business Help

GI@SW is here to help you become the success you deserve to be. Therefore, we will be providing business consultants to help you refine your ideas and create a comprehensive business plan to help you get started on your entrepreneurial journey. There will be substantial opportunity to interact with our business consultants throughout the competition. The winners of the competition will also be paired with a business consultant who will be there to help with the execution of the business plan and link you up to essential networks if need be.

Funding

Winning entrepreneurs of this competition will receive total prize money not exceeding USD $1000 (1st place $500, 2nd place $300, 3rd place $200). The participants can also attract local investments up to $9,000 to kick-start their businesses. These funds will be given in exchange for a share of the business started by the entrepreneur. The resulting business would be co-owned by both the entrepreneur and the investor.

Knowledge

Throughout the course of the competition, all participants will have a chance to learn about basic business concepts including the following:

• Marketing (How to differentiate your product/service, how to let your customers know about you, how to advertise, how to handle promotions, how to price your product, how to create a distribution chain)

• Financials (How to determine if a new business is profitable, how to account for profit and loss, how does investment work, basic accounting)

• Business plan writing (How to plan for the future of your business, how to write a business plan)

• Presentation skills (How to pitch the idea of your business to other people, how to be an effective presenter, what information you should include, how to reach people)

• Be introduced to cutting-edge technologies that you can leverage to help solve your community's problems. These can include water filters, solar power, bio gas units and other proven technologies in similar markets.

Application

All applications must be submitted through this online application form. Organizations are encouraged to help their members in submitting this form. Please contact Kym at kymcole35@gmail.com or 089 483 836 if you have any enquiries or need help filling in the application form. Deadline for applications is March 6th. All selected participants will be announced and contacted by 10th of March via phone.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Are there any fees to join the competition?

A: No, the competition is 100% free and by invites-only from applicants who apply through our form

2. Is there an age limit to join the competition?

A: No, there is no age limit. At Gazaab, we believe that an entrepreneur never really stops, and age should never be a factor in determining an entrepreneur's abilities. It is just a number. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.

3. Is it alright to join the program if i don't speak english well?

Absolutely. We belive language shouldnt be a problem and therefore we take every possible effort to ensure the event is 100% accessible to everyone in Khmer. Only a select few segments of the event might be in English, and we will ensure that there are translators on hand to help you understand as well as provide you with the translated documents you need.