Registration Open for Latin American Entrepreneurship Tournament
This fall, business students across Latin America will enter a fierce competition to build the ultimate bicycle company. They’ll design brands, launch ad campaigns, oversee production, and manage finances—all inside a Marketplace Simulations game.
The 2024 International Entrepreneurship Tournament invites student teams to show off their business savvy in a completely virtual environment.
They’ll have four weeks to build a company from the ground up while working to dominate the market.
“It is a very demanding event,” says Marketplace Simulations distributor Gustavos Sanchez Peralta. “There are participants who invest a lot of time in the simulation, and it has its rewards.”
Teaching Business in a ‘Spectacular Way’
Marketplace Simulations started hosting competitions in Mexico in 2022.
“I love it,” says 2023 participant Cindy Hernandez. “The experience was very immersive and …touched upon topics in a spectacular way.”
Students play the Introduction to Business and Strategy simulation, a finalist for the 2024 SIIA CODiE Awards. The simulation’s challenge is to use 3D printing technology to build an international carbon fiber bicycle company.
The game consists of six decision rounds, representing six business quarters. Before each quarter, Peralta teaches an online class about the types of decisions students will be making and reveals results from the previous quarter.
These classes provide guidance, but not concrete answers, to students about what they should do in the simulation. Each team must learn to assess competitors’ tactics and market data, identify openings in the market, and act accordingly. As they progress through the simulation, they’ll begin to see how business theory applies to real-world situations.
Growing Competition Inspires New Tournament
In just two years, the Mexican competition has more than doubled in size.
“In the 2022 tournament, we had 23 teams. In 2023, we had 49 teams,” Peralta says. “An acceptable growth, but I think we can reach 100.”
The competition has allowed professors at 15 Mexican institutions to see Marketplace in action.
In 2024, Gustavo is continuing the local competition and inviting schools in seven countries to join an international competition.
Introducing the 2024 International Entrepreneurship Tournament
The 2024 International Entrepreneurship Tournament will be held October 14 to November 15, 2024. Schools are invited to register a maximum of 12 student teams with four students each. Professors are encouraged to participate as advisors.
Find more information, including the full tournament program, on the International Entrepreneurship Tournament TIE2024.