Dureke iDEA PITCH COMPETITION

Elementary, Middle, High School Students

The Elementary, Middle School & High School Dureke iDEA PITCH  Competition is predicated on two choices per contestant/team:

1. Develop a business iDEA PITCH plan conceived and developed by the contestant or team.
2. Only new business ideas will be eligible. Existing businesses that are more than two years old are not eligible. Existing businesses are defined as registered with the State of Maryland or have obtained an EIN within the past 24 months.

ALL IDEAS ARE WELCOME!
It does not matter when you formulated your ideas as long as you or your group own it and have the legal right to present. Whatever ideas you bring to the competition is your responsibility, and WETATi Academy and its agents are not legally liable. Note that your participation is direct, indirect, expressed, and implied consent and waiver of any kind of liability to WETATi Academy for the use of your images in WETATi Academy promotions.
COMPETE, AND YOU COULD WIN THESE 5 POINTS BENEFITS + Seed funding for startup – CASH PRIZES Mentorship from the WETATi Entrepreneurship Center Capacity building with strategic partners Access to capital (Connections to banks; loans, resources) Learn Canvas Training with your idea: Preparing contestants on how to prepare to PITCH THEIR BUSINESS IDEAS. Training dates to be announced! 

KEY STEPS TO COMPETE: Read the REQUIREMENTS below. Complete and submit a REGISTRATION APPLICATION. After receipt of application an email will be sent with logistics and the Dureke Business iDEA Pitch Slide Deck Template. Complete the competition slide deck. Please send all Business iDEA Pitch slide Decks to joanna@wetati.org Monday, March 31, 2025 11:59 PM 11:59PM.  You may also share your files via email with Google Docs. Develop and practice your three (3) minute idea pitch.

ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL & HIGH SCHOOL DUREKE iDEA PITCH COMPETITION REQUIREMENTS:

• Open to all Elementary, Middle and High School Students (9 -18).
• It does not matter when you formulated your ideas as long as you or your team own it and have the legal right to present. Whatever ideas you or your team bring to the competition is your responsibility, and WETATi Academy and its agents are not legally liable. Businesses that have been established for more than 24 months are ineligible for the competition.
• Business iDEA has not been entered in a previous competition.
• All contestants must complete the COMPETITION APPLICATION.
• Contestants MUST provide the name and email address of a current teacher to qualify for the appropriate membership level.
• Group/team business are permitted (No more than 2 members). Each team member must complete a membership and application form.
• All applicants/teams MUST submit the completed WETATi Academy business pitch deck. All slides must be included and addressed. See below the link for the Next Generation Competition templates. All Dureke Business iDEA Pitch Plans/Models content must be the applicant’s/team idea and owned 100% by the applicant. WETATi Academy is not responsible for Dureke Business iDEA Pitch Plans/Models owned in part or in total by persons other than the applicant or submission team.
• Competition entries must be submitted online. (No hard copies will be accepted)

Please send all Dureke Business iDEA Pitch PowerPoint Decks to joanna@wetati.org by MONDAY, March 31, 2025 11:59PM You may also share your files via email with Google Docs.

• Once PowerPoint Decks and Sample Video Pitches are received and evaluated, applicants will be notified by email if they qualify to compete.
• To prepare to compete, finalists will carry out coaching and mentoring with branded corporations between May 1 and May 31, 2025.
• IN ADDITION, A 30-SECOND TO ONE-MINUTE SAMPLE VIDEO PITCH OF YOUR BUSINESS IDEA SHOULD BE PREPARED. THE 30 – 60 SECOND VIDEO MUST BE sent to joanna@wetati.org by May 23rd, 2025. Applicants must share their video, business logo, and brief description of themselves and the business idea for Dureke iDEA Pitch Choice Award Competition. 
• This year, the competition will be conducted LIVE for the finalists.
• Finalists MUSTcommit to be present for the LIVE competition
• Finalists will have a total of 6 minutes — 3 minutes to present, and 3 minutes for the judges to judge.
• ANYONE WHO DOES NOT ADHERE STRICTLY TO THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE COMPETITION WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED.
• ONLY WETATi Academy AND ITS AGENTS WILL DETERMINE HOW THE COMPETITION IS RUN AND IS NOT OPEN TO THE DICTATES OF THE COMPETITORS OR OTHER OUTSIDE FORCES.
• THE COMPLETED WETATi Academy BUSINESS MODEL POWERPOINT presentation DECK submitted by the contestant REMAINS THE SOLE PROPERTY OF THE COMPETITOR; however, WETATi Academy retains the right without consultation with the applicant to use work products and contents therefrom to market/promote or use for the furtherance of WETATi Academy work.

Note that your participation is direct, indirect, expressed, and implied consent and waiver of any kind of liability to WETATi Academy for the use of your images in WETATi Academy promotions.

KEY DATES TO REMEMBER 

• Registration Monday, February 3, 2025
• Registration to complete closes Monday, March 3, 2025
• Preliminary Submission Dureke iDEA Pitch slide decks due: Monday, March 31, 2025 11:59 PM NO EXCEPTIONSemail slide deck to joanna@wetati.org
• Finalists announced: April 30, 2025
• Dureke iDEA Pitch competition coaching begins: May 1, 2025
• Dureke iDEA Pitch competition coaching ends: May 31, 2025
• Presentation training: Tentative, May 23, 2025
• Final Competitors Slide Deck Submission Due: JUNE 2, 2025
• Dureke iDEA Pitch Competition: LIVE In-Person Saturday, June 7, 2025 @Nyumburu Cultural Center, University of Maryland College park.
• Scholarship & Awards GALA, in-person: Saturday, June 14, 2025

Final Date for Business Dureke iDEA Pitch PowerPoint Deck Submissions:  June 2, 2025

COMPLETE AND SUBMIT A COMPETITION REGISTRATION APPLICATION

Potential competitors should first read this page in order to get a basic understanding of the Dureke Business iDEA PITCH Competition and then complete the Registration Application Form.  After the completed Registration Application Form is submitted, you will be returned to this page. The applicant should study and start working on the Competition Requirements right away.  Please email any questions to info@wetatiacademy.org

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