About
GESAwards
Our story:
Global EdTech Startups Awards (GESAwards) is the largest Edtech competition and community in the world, a joint venture between partners from the 6 continents that accomplished to build a community of +6000 EdTech Startups from +130 countries.
GESAwards was founded in 2014 aiming to support global expansion and international collaboration in the Edtech space and has quickly gained international recognition as the major platform for all Edtech stakeholders to connect.
In an industry that has a natural tendency to be local and currently, with only a few mature markets, GESAwards provides the opportunity to startups from any corner of the world to showcase their products to a global audience, connect and build significant partnerships, facilitate business opportunities as well as compete towards being crowned the Edtech Startup of the year. In addition to promoting the best Edtech Startups, GESAwards helps build local EdTech ecosystems as well as facilitates the flow of EdTech investments to alternative markets.
GESAwards ecosystem is growing every year, expanding to more and more world regions, offering new opportunities for collaborations with industry leaders and world most influential organizations.
Joint venture:
GESAwards is grounded on the strength of a network of EdTech clusters from around the globe and it is constantly attracting newcomers that contribute and benefit from this significant global EdTech connection. Initiated in 2014 by MindCET (Israel) and partnering with PAU Education – Open Education Challenge (Spain) and UK Israel EdTech Hub (UK), GESAwards has welcomed new partners including Prismapar (Colombia), Ed21 (France), GSET(Ghana), Tecnologico de Monterrey (Mexico), EduLab (Japan),xEdu (Finland), LearnLaunch (US-East), Esperanza (China), Ingenious Faces (India), StarEd (USA-West), Positivo (Brazil), FEM (Italy), Sek Lab (Spain), EdCrunch (Russia), Educate (UK), Global Impact Edtech Alliance (LATAM), Eduvation (Germany), Eduspaze (Singapore), UK Tech Hub (South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria), Education Commission Asia (South Korea), among others.
Regional semifinals and Finals Event:
Each GESAwards' partner organizes the celebration of a local event, bringing together a select group of applicants from its region to the Regional Semi-Final event. The winners of the Regional events become the candidates to the Final GESAwards event. The Finals event takes place in London every January, with the participation of a select group of leaders of the industry that will choose the winners, and a crowd of hundreds of Edtech advocates.
GESAwards Bootcamp:
Two-days event prior to GESAwards London Finals, exclusively for GESAwards finalists, providing them with significant connections, practical tools and specific opportunities to grow their businesses. Participants include top 3 startups of each regional semifinals (~60 of selected Edtech startups), GESAwards partners and a network of global Edtech leaders and investors.
Specific Tracks :
Besides the competition towards the EdTech of the year, GESAwards has specific tracks that promote startups to apply in specific areas. Every year these tracks are re-defined according to the partners' interests, such as: Hybris learning (by HP Tech Ventures), Addressing learning differences (by Jacobs foundation), Cultivating Empathy for the Earth (by National Geographic), School Dropouts (by IDB), among others. Read more here.
Who can apply:
EdTech startups from all over the world are welcome to apply. While there is no strict ‘stage’ requirement for the startups, special consideration will be given to companies with a product already in the market, but prior to mass distribution. People from all ages, gender as well as from all geographies are invited to apply.
All Startups are judged by a panel of industry experts, based on the Startups (a) potential and (b) current progress in the competition criteria listed in the homepage.
GESAwards ORGANIZER:
COMPETITION CRITERIA
The EdTech Startup will be judged according to the following criteria:
1. Address a clear educational pain, relevant to the market
2. Provide an innovative pedagogical approach
3. Have an outstanding user experience
4. Show potential for tremendous growth in their user base
5. Operate in the context of a sustainable business mode
ALL PRIZES
The best startups will get global exposure in the EdTech ecosystem, valuable PR, mentorship, cash prizes and business development opportunities.
The competition's top entrepreneurs will be invited to follow up events and next stage accelerator program.