Fifth Annual CIPE International Youth Essay Competition Winners Announced

CIPE is pleased to announce the winners of the fifth annual International Youth Essay competition today. This year we received more than 300 entries from 62 countries, including Belarus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Iraq, Jamaica, Paraguay, and Russia. The three categories this year were Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Inclusive Growth, and Social Transformations. The winners were selected by an international panel of judges including CIPE’s partners from business associations, think tanks, and other international development organizations around the world, as well as CIPE staff.

Past winners have gone on to publish a book with their winnings, start a similar contest in Romania, and found an NGO in Ghana focused on youth, garnering media attention from the likes of the Wall Street Journal. Keep an eye on these rising stars as they continue a tradition of excellence.

Grand Prize winner – Democracy that Delivers for Entrepreneurs:

Chandrima Padmanabhan (India) “Entrepreneurship in India: The Evolution of the Pedestrian Pariah.” Chandrima will attend CIPE’s Democracy that Delivers for Entrepreneurs conference on April 9-10 in Chicago.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Beyond technology

1^st place: Todor Raykov (Bulgaria) “To Flee or WHEN to Flee?”

2^nd place: Natalia Korchagina (Russia) “Making Ideas Happen. Helping Ideas Succeed”

3^rd place: Jones Cecil Ntaukira (Malawi) “The Great Miracle: Occupy Youth Entrepreneurship”

Inclusive Growth: The entrepreneurial environment for scaling up business

1^st place: Obed Ankrah (Ghana) “Promoting Inclusive Growth: the Entrepreneurial Environment for  Scaling up Business”

2^nd place: Anna Grishkina (Russia) “Opportunities into results”

3^rd place: Ngutor Saaka (Nigeria) “Inclusive Growth: The entrepreneurial environment for scaling up business – a panacea for youth unemployment in Nigeria”

Social transformations: The role of entrepreneurs in building democratic societies

1^st place:  Prince Karakire Guma (Uganda) “Fostering Democracy in Uganda: The Unexplored Contributions of Young Entrepreneurs”

2^nd place: Surath Giri (Nepal) “Building Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for Fostering Entrepreneurship: Lessons from Nepal”

3^rd place: Nivya Murthi (India) “Youth Social Entrepreneurship for building a stronger India”

The winning essays will continue to be published as Economic Reform Feature Service articles, and winners will be profiled on the CIPE Development Blog in the coming months. Congratulations to the winners and everyone who entered!