Global Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (GYEC)
Expert Overview
The Global Youth Entrepreneurship Competition (GYEC) is a fee-based team pitch competition for high school students, run by GYE Zone and paired with optional University of California, Santa Barbara credit courses. Teams submit an eight-slide project, pitch at an online or in-person division final, and division winners compete in a virtual global final.
Format
Judging Format
Monetary
Grade Eligibility
Geographic Eligibility
Discipline
Entries
Percent Awarded
Important Dates
Registration Opens
November 1, 2025
Round 1 Deadline
January 1, 2026
Division Final Round Registration Opens
January 31, 2026
Round 2 Deadline
March 15, 2026
Final Round Deadline
May 31, 2026
Final Registration Deadline
June 30, 2026
Division Final Round
July 21-31, 2026
Global Final (Virtual)
October 12, 2026
Passed
Open
Approaching: < 1 mo.
Priority: < 2 weeks
Urgent: < 1 week
Registration Cost
Preliminary Round Application fee
$100 per person
About
The preliminary round costs $100 per person, with waivers for qualifying low-income U.S. students, and every team member applies. Semi-finalists receive jury feedback and may apply to a division final: online for the U.S., or in Hangzhou, Chengdu, or Zagreb. Teams pitch for eight minutes with five minutes of questions. The global final winner receives a $5,000 scholarship. Semi-finalists may also apply to a UCSB credit-bearing entrepreneurship program, whose cost is not listed.
The site publishes no participant or team counts, so a division or global final win is the credential that counts; a semi-finalist certificate reflects a jury’s review of paid entries. The credit courses are a separate paid enrollment, with a nonrefundable $250 fee on live courses.
GYEC is the right competition for a team that wants a mentored entrepreneurship project and a pitch audience and accepts that it is a paid program, not a free contest.
Prizes Offered
$5,000 Scholarship for the whole team (GYE Global Champion)
$1,000 Scholarship and a certificate (Top 1% of participating teams)
$750 Scholarship and a certificate (Top 5% of participating teams)
$500 Scholarship and a certificate (Top 10% of participating teams)
$300 Scholarship and a certificate (Top 15% of participating teams)
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