The U.S. Department of State is pleased to announce the prize amounts for the upcoming GIST Tech-I competition finals. The competition seeks to highlight young science and technology entrepreneurs across the globe.

The 2018 GIST Tech-I finals will be held at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, April 16-19 in Istanbul, Turkey. Finalists will undergo intense business training before pitching their idea or startup in front of an expert panel of judges for prizes, including seed capital.

This year, Amazon Web Services has generously agreed to provide AWS credits to add to the total prize pool. Startups and entrepreneurs can use AWS credits on tech training and cloud computing platforms – critical capabilities for startups using technologies like artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things or data analysis. Alice is also adding to the total prize pool, offering Tech-I winners a spot the 2019 Circular Summit. The Circular Summit inspires women entrepreneurs to accelerate their growth, empower each other and break the traditional roles that often hold women back from achieving their full potential. The summit is an excellent opportunity for startups to connect with impact-driven investors and likeminded founders.

This year’s prize amounts are:

• 1^st Place: $3,500 USD, $50,000 in AWS credits, Scholarship ticket to the 2019 Circular Summit, Feature on the Alice blog, Three hours of mentorship with Team Alice
• 2^nd Place: $2,500 USD, $20,000 in AWS credits, Scholarship ticket to the 2019 Circular Summit, One hour of mentorship with Team Alice
• 3^rd Place: $1,500 USD, $10,000 in AWS credits, Scholarship ticket to the 2019 Circular Summit
• Outstanding Female Entrepreneur: $1,500 USD, $25,000 in AWS credits
• Spirit of Tech-I: $1,000 USD, $5,000 in AWS credits

In addition to the finalist prizes, Alumni Mentors will also be given the opportunity to pitch before the judges. The best Alumni Mentor pitch will receive $30,000 in AWS credits.

Finally, Amazon Web Services will award each of the Finalists and Alumni Mentors $1,500 in AWS credits, which will be in addition to the other prizes (this excludes the 1st Place and Best Alumni Mentor Pitch winners).

In total, the 2018 GIST Tech-I competition will award over prizes totalling more than $170,000 USD in startup resources, thanks to Amazong Web Serivices and Alice.

You can learn more about the competing finalists by clicking here.

The GIST initiative is led by the U.S. Department of State, and the Tech-I competition is implemented by AAAS with VentureWell serving as the training partner.