GSEA Crowns a New Winner

From April to October, more than 2,000 students from 42 countries competed in the 2011 Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA), a global competition for high school, undergraduate and graduate students who own and operate businesses while attending college or university. An EO program, GSEA supports early stage entrepreneurs who require much-needed mentorship, recognition and connections to take their businesses to the next level of success.

Each year, students compete against their peers by presenting their businesses to a panel of judges; only the regional and national winners advance to the Global Finals to engage world-class entrepreneurs, receive media exposure, win money and share in the US$500,000 prize pool of cash and in-kind business services. This year, the GSEA Global Finals was held from 17-19 November in New York City, New York, USA, during Global Entrepreneurship Week, where 45 students competed for the ultimate prize— the Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Earning that prestigious title for 2011 was Ludwick Marishane, a senior at the University of Cape Town. Ludwick is the founder of Headboy Industries, LCC, an invention-development and commercialization company that created DryBath, a revolutionary patent-pending personal care product. Runner-up was Garrett Gee, a sophomore at Brigham Young University and founder of Scan.me, a cutting-edge software solutions provider.

“Participating in GSEA was a game-changing experience for my personal and professional growth, and winning is proof that crazy high school dreams can go on to bring about real change in the world,” said Marishane. “I went for the competition, but came back with a global board of peer advisors and lifelong mentors through EO.”

For more information about GSEA and how EO is supporting the future of global business, visit www.gsea.org.