Social Business Creation (SBC) Competition is an innovative training platform through which participants learn how to use market mechanisms to address social issues for the betterment of society and how to integrate ESG (environmental, social, and governance) in their business strategies and performance measurement.

Participants learn through participation in SBC online courses, coaching sessions, workshops, business visits, judges’ feedback, and more.

Administration fee
Register your project by 14 April 2024
Register as project members by 20 September 2024
Competition booklet

  Join our upcoming global sessions:

  • Social Innovation Generation:   May 1, 2024: 8.00 am -10.00 am EDT (GMT-4)
  • Business Model Innovation: June 1, 2024: 8.00 am – 10.00 am EDT (GMT-4)
  • Execution and Scale-up: July 1, 2024: 8.00 am – 10.00 am EDT (GMT-4)
  • Social Impact Acceleration: August 1, 2024: 8.00 am – 10.00 am EDT (GMT-4)
  • Semifinal and SDG Investment Fair: September 30, 2024: 9.00 am – 05.00 pm EDT (GMT-4)
    • HEC Montreal’s Hélène Desmarais Building, 501 Rue De La Gauchetière O, Montréal QC.
  • Grand Final: October 1, 2024: 1.00 pm – 05.00 pm EDT (GMT-4)
    • HEC Montreal’s Hélène Desmarais Building, 501 Rue De La Gauchetière O, Montréal QC.

PROJECT PRIZES

APPLICATION:

PRIZE DETAILS:

Award name Total value Number of winners  Cash amount per winner  In-kind value per winner
First prize  $      30,500 1  $           20,000 1 scholarship to attend MOSAIC summer school (valued $8,500) & 1 scholarship to attend SBC leadership training (valued $2000)
Second prize  $      15,500 1  $             5,000 1 scholarship to attend MOSAIC summer school (valued $8,500) & 1 scholarship to attend SBC leadership training (valued $2000)
Third prize  $        7,000 1  $             5,000 1 scholarship to attend SBC leadership training (valued $2000)
Audience choice award  $      10,500 1  $                     – 1 scholarship to attend MOSAIC summer school (valued $8,500) & 1 scholarship to attend SBC leadership training (valued $2000)
Regional top 30% of Round 1  $        7,000 10  $                     – 1 voucher to attend SBC conferences (valued $400) and 1 global coaching session (valued $300)
Regional top 30% of Round 2  $        5,600 8  $                     – 1 voucher to attend SBC conferences (valued $400) and 1 global coaching session (valued $300)
Regional top 30% of Round 3  $        2,400 6  $                     – 1 voucher to attend SBC conferences (valued $400) and 1 global coaching session (valued $300)
Regional top 30% of Round 4  $        2,800 4  $                     – 1 voucher to attend SBC conferences (valued $400)
Impactful Social Business Idea for the top 10 projects of Round 1 10  $                     – Certificate only
Innovative Social Business Concept for the top 8 projects of Round 2 8  $                     – Certificate only
Outstanding Growth-oriented Social Business for the top 6 projects of Round 3 6  $                     – Certificate only
Global Runner up for the top 4 projects of the Final Round 4  $                     – Certificate only

INDIVIDUAL PRIZES

APPLICATION:

PRIZE DETAILS:

Award name Total value Number of winners  Cash Amount per winner  In-kind value per winner
Impactful Educator Award  $        4,500 5  $           500 1 voucher to attend SBC conferences (valued $400)
Outstanding Evaluator  $        4,500 5  $          500 1 voucher to attend SBC conferences (valued $400)
L.J. Filion Prize  $        2,000 1  $         2,000
Transformative Entrepreneurial Journey Distinction  $      20,000 10  $                     – 1 scholarship to attend SBC leadership training (valued $2,000)
SBC ambassador award  $        2,000 5  $                     – 1 voucher to attend SBC conferences (valued $400)

INSTITUTIONAL PRIZES

  • 20,000 – Impactful Change Agent award for one school – 5 scholarships to attend SBC learning expedition (valued $4000/person)

Click here to apply by August 24, 2024

FAQs

What score must our team obtain to pass each round?

Participants must complete the work required for each round to be eligible for participation in the next round.

  • Social Innovation
    • The project must receive at least 30 points on a 100-point scale in the regional evaluation.
    • At least one member of the team passes the Social Innovation course.
  • Business Model Innovation
    • The project must receive at least 30 points on a 100-point scale in the regional evaluation.
    • At least one member of the team passes the Business Model Innovation course.
  • Execution and Scaleup
    • The project must receive at least 60 points on a 100-point scale in the regional evaluation.
    • At least one member of the team passes the Execution and Scale-up course.
  • Social Impact Acceleration
    • The project must receive at least 60 points on a 100-point scale in the regional evaluation.
    • At least one member of the team passes the Social Impact Acceleration course.
Who are the Judges?

We invite prestigious business leaders and professors, as well as inspirational and experienced social entrepreneurs, to be our judges. You can see their profile on the SBC community site.

If you would like to participate in the SBC competition as a judge, please email sbc@hec.ca your expression of interest along with your CV and full contact information. If your profile matches our needs, we will include you in our judging panel.

We encourage you to nominate qualified people to the SBC judge panel. Please email sbc@hec.ca your nominee’s contact information and a short description of the nominee’s background. We will follow up with the nominated candidate.

What happens if we realise that we need to change our products/services, or even our business concept during the competition? Is it possible?

We expect you to take into account our judges’ and coaches’ comments and thus expect you to change your project in accordance with their suggestions.

Any scale and scope of change are accepted as long as the change is aimed at enabling you to continue pursuing your social mission.

What happens if my team submits our work after the deadline?

Unless you have an official agreement with SBC, your team will be automatically disqualified if SBC does not receive your submission by the deadline.

We strongly suggest that you submit your work at least one day before the deadline and keep SBC confirmation as proof of submission.

Must all team members follow the training?

We consider your whole team as one unit. We evaluate your business performance based on the whole team’s work, not the work done by each individual. 

However, at least one member of the team must pass the online course to qualify the team for regional evaluation. Our experience from the past editions shows that it is impossible to meet each round’s challenge requirements if your team does not follow the course attentively. You can choose who among your team members, how and when to follow the online course. Please note the deadlines below for each course completion:

How do I follow SBC online courses?

The four courses are provided on HEC Montreal’s platform called eduZone and are open to both competition participants (for free) and the public (with a fee). You can participate in one, two, three, or four of them. You will need to register for the course(s) on the SBC community site by the deadline below to receive credentials to access the course contents. The registration can be done by you directly or through your team leader.

  • Social Innovation: 1 May 2024 
  • Business Model Innovation: 1 June 2024
  • Execution and Scaleup: 1 July 2024
  • Social Impact Acceleration: 1 August 2024.

Please note that your team must have at least one person passing the course to qualify for prize considerations and admission to the next round should your team meet the minimum business performance requirements.

If you have questions or need an explanation about the materials, please send an email to sbc-student@hec.ca.

Can we change our team leader?
It is normal that team composition changes during the competition. If the team leader changes, you must send SBC a letter signed by all members to inform SBC of the leadership change.  
Can we have more than one team leader?
It is possible to have a co-leader. Your team must submit to SBC an official document signed by all members to confirm this leadership arrangement. 
What if a team member quits?
It is normal that team composition changes during the competition. It does not affect the project’s status in the competition as long as at least one member stays with the project from the beginning to the end of the competition and the project passes the minimum requirements of each competition round.  
What do I do if I want to remove a member of my team?

If you want to remove a team member for any reason, the team leader needs to send us an official notification about the exclusion of the team member.

Please note that the work submitted for each round must include a list of all team members and coaches of that round, according to the SBC template. SBC provides participation certificates to the people on this list only.

How do I know that SBC received our team’s submission?

After you have submitted your work, you will receive a confirmation on the SBC community site and see it in your “Workspace” on the SBC community site. We advise that you submit your work early to avoid last-minute technical troubles. We can provide technical support only during normal office hours, i.e., 9 am – 5 pm (Montreal time) from Monday to Friday.

What happens if my team does not send the required work on time?

Your team will be disqualified.