The University of Delaware Horn Program in Entrepreneurship’s Diamond Challenge welcomes its largest applicant pool with the most international participants to date for the 2017 competition.

This year, the competition will welcome a total of 716 teams, which is nearly double last year’s count. There will be 371 teams representing the United States from 25 states and 345 international teams from 36 countries. Of the 36 countries represented, 21 are new to the Diamond Challenge this year including Armenia, Switzerland and Tanzania.

“We anticipate seeing that number grow each year, as both youth and educators realize the benefits of entrepreneurial thinking and experience at the high school level,” said Julie Frieswyk, manager of youth programs at the Horn Program.

Created in 2012 by the Horn Program and sponsored by Capital One, the competition has reached more than 1,500 students and 155 schools from around the world. It has recently been ranked one of the top 29 best international business plan competitions by AlphaGamma, a business portal for millennials.

The Diamond Challenge is a unique competition that allows high school students to learn about entrepreneurship while putting their ideas into action. Participants submit a written concept, as well as a five-minute pitch for a business or social venture, to be evaluated by a panel of judges. Top teams will win awards from a prize pool of $100,000.

The Diamond Challenge is one program in the Paul and Linda McConnell Youth Entrepreneurship Education Initiative.

About the Horn Program in Entrepreneurship

The Horn Program in Entrepreneurship ignites imaginations and empowers world changers through educational offerings that emphasize experiential learning, evidence-based entrepreneurship and active engagement with entrepreneurs and other members of the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Through participation in Horn Program offerings, students gain the knowledge, skills, personal capacities, experiences, connections and access to resources needed to successfully manifest innovation and thrive in the rapidly changing world.