Harvinder Power named Global Champion at the 2020 Global Student Entrepreneur Awards

Founder of Motics and studentpreneur from the United Kingdom wins the first-ever virtual global finals

Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), a high-quality support network of 14,000+ like-minded leaders across 61 countries, has awarded the title of Global Champion of the 2020 Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) to Harvinder Power from the United Kingdom, who began as a winner from the EO UK-London chapter.

Power wins a cash prize of US$25,000 in addition to products and services to help support his company, Motics, which provides a wearable solution that engages patients and provides actionable insight into muscle function. Power intends to use his prize money to bring Motics to its next challenge: manufacturing.

"I’m incredibly happy to be here, to meet incredible entrepreneurs from all over the world and have the chance to share our story," said Power, after his win. When asked to share advice for other entrepreneurs, Power highlighted the importance of teamwork. "Try and find an amazing team to surround yourself with. I always find that with a team that has diverse skills, you really go far together."

GSEA is designed to recognize and award the world’s future innovators and disruptors for combining two difficult roles: owning and operating a business while attending college or university. This annual event is the premier global competition for students and sees future industry leaders and inventors present and compete for the grand prize and global title.

Winning second place and a US$10,000 cash prize is Kate Madden, Ireland, co-founder of FenuHealth. Taking home not only third place in the competition, but the People’s Choice Award and US$5,000 in prize money as well, is Omar Negron Ocasio, Puerto Rico, founder of Remora Inc.

A total of 50 'studentpreneurs' each representing their home countries made it to the semi-final round of the competition this year. The finals, originally scheduled to take place in Cape Town, South Africa in April, took place virtually for the first time ever in GSEA’s history. The seven student entrepreneurs in the final round competed in front of a diverse panel of judges.

"I feel humbled by the energy and passion that the participants put into their lives and businesses," said Jorge Gomez, the 2019/2020 GSEA Chair and competition judge. "This has been one of the best experiences of my life." Regarding the new format of the competition, he commented, "To have this competition transform to a digital event is proof of how entrepreneurs can react to adversities and transform them into opportunities."

Jason Sze, EO Chair for FY2019/2020, also a judge this year said, "This is my first time judging the finals and it has been an incredible experience. The students demonstrated "endless possibilities" today, and it's one of the things we want to provide entrepreneurs at all stages with."

GSEA also distributes Chairman’s awards recognising hard work and innovation among participants working to improve their local communities and provide for underserved communities. Shunsuke Tsuboi of Japan won the Innovation award for truly thinking outside the box. Ali Khursheed, Pakistan, was awarded for his perseverance and strength with the Lessons from the Edge award. For successfully maneuvering his company through the COVID-19 crisis, Joseph Liu of China won the Pivot award. The Chairman’s award for Global Social Impact went to Wong Shy Kit and Diego Rivera Cabrera from Guatemala was awarded for Community Social Impact.

All GSEA finalists are college or university students. To be eligible to participate, they must either be the owner, founder, or primary shareholder of a business that is a minimum of six consecutive months operational. The 2020/2021 competition season for EO GSEA is now open. Apply now and to know more, visit: https://gsea.org.