Award to be used to Introduce Social Enterprise Award Category
(Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) - The University of Hawaiʻi Business Plan Competition will be strengthened by a three-year, $300,000 investment by The Case Foundation, a charitable foundation established by AOL co-founder and Hawaiʻi native Steve Case.
The university is delighted to receive this commitment from The Case Foundation, said Vance Roley, the newly appointed dean of the College of Business, and we are particularly pleased that this sponsorship will allow us to introduce a social enterprise category in our competition. Social enterprises are nonprofit or for-profit business ventures that strive to achieve financial self-sufficiency and a quantifiable double bottom line of financial and social concerns.
Organized by the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship & E-Business at the UH College of Business, the competition was created to encourage students across the UH System to be more entrepreneurial, and to provide mentorship and coaching for their business ideas.
The Case Foundation is proud to support this competition and the addition of a new prize for Social Enterprise, said Steve Case. If we encourage entrepreneurship in both the business and nonprofit sectors, investors in Hawaiʻi’s future will have the opportunity to realize both economic and social returns on their investments.
The Social Enterprise Category prize will be $20,000 cash. The Case Foundation will provide over $60,000 in cash prizes overall, as follows:
- Open Category: 1st prize - $25K, 2nd prize - $15K
- Social Enterprise Category: $20K
- Best Undergraduate Plan: $1K
- Winners of High School Business Plan Competition: $500
The UH Office of Technology Transfer and Economic Development also sponsors a $20,000 prize for the best business plan using technology developed at UH, bringing the total prize money in the competition to $80,000.
The UH Business Plan Competition is the premier business plan competition in Hawaiʻi, emphasizing innovation in technology and social consciousness. The competition process is an intense and unique learning opportunity for anyone wishing to pursue an idea for a business. Participants who reach the final round will have worked on their business plans for three months, supported by a host of volunteer mentors, and a series of informative help sessions. Finalists will present their plans to a panel of judges and a live audience. In addition to the substantial cash awards, winners are automatically guaranteed presentation slots at the Wayne Brown Institute Investors Choice International Equity Capital Conference.
Inquires about the competition may be directed to PACE at [email protected] or (808) 956-5083.
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The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawaiʻi System. The mission of the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is to unite donors' passions with the University of Hawaiʻi’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawaiʻi and our future generations www.uhfoundation.org.
