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KIDx Asia — American World School Chennai
Entrepreneurship

KIDx Asia

Where Young Falcons Pitch to the World — and the World Listens.

Asia's Premier Startup Platform for Young Entrepreneurs

This Is Not a School Competition. It Is a Global Arena.

At American World School Chennai, we do not just teach entrepreneurship. We give our students the arena to practise it — in front of real investors, real entrepreneurs, and real judges — on a platform that stretches from Chennai to Bangkok, Dubai, and beyond.

KIDx Asia is Asia’s premier startup competition for young entrepreneurs aged 8 to 18. Founded by Dr. Mohana Lakshmi — Founder and CEO of Kidspreneur, KIDx Asia, and American World School Chennai — it has grown from a curriculum research project in Singapore into one of the most significant youth entrepreneurship platforms in the world.

American World School Chennai was itself born from this journey. During the global disruption of COVID-19, when KIDx Asia events could not be hosted, the founder channelled her vision into building something permanent — a school where the entrepreneurial mission of Kidspreneur and KIDx Asia is lived every single day. KIDx Asia and AWS share a founder, a philosophy, and a future.

10
Countries with KIDx editions
$10K
Investment per winning startup
1,000+
Audience at largest event (2024)
45
Student startups incubated

Four Rounds to the Global Stage

KIDx Asia is structured across four progressive rounds — each one raising the stakes and bringing the best young entrepreneurs closer to the Grand Finale.

Round One

Online Qualifier

Submit your idea. Show your prototype. Record your pitch.

Every KIDx Asia journey begins with an online application built around three core elements: your idea, your prototype, and your video pitch.

Normal Track — for students still developing an idea, with structured milestones from problem framing to final pitch. Fast Track — for students with a developed prototype ready to compete.

Round Two

Regional Semi-Finals

Pitch live in front of expert judges.

Semi-finalists pitch via video call to experienced judges — fielding questions, defending thinking, and demonstrating the confident communication AWS students develop through Xpress Day and Friday Entrepreneurship Day.

Regional winners receive a $500 pitching workshop and advance to the National Finals, with a structured Pitch Training Workshop along the way.

Round Three

National Finals

The nation's best young entrepreneurs. One stage.

Top regional winners and runners-up converge to pitch their sustainable startup ideas to a panel of the nation's most successful entrepreneurs and technology leaders.

National winners receive an invitation to the most prestigious stage in young entrepreneurship in Asia: the KIDx Asia Grand Global Finale.

Round Four

Grand Global Finale

Three days. The world's stage. Up to $10,000 in investment.

Day 1 — Rehearsal and preparation with KIDx Asia experts. Day 2 — The pitch to a panel of global entrepreneurs and investors who do not just evaluate, they invest. Day 3 — The Grand Gala Dinner of celebration, recognition, and the kind of networking most adults work careers toward.

The International Kidspreneur Bootcamp

A three-day intensive entrepreneurship programme alongside the Grand Finale — for young people aged 12 to 18 from across the world.

Connection with mentors and entrepreneurs from across Asia and beyond
Access to accelerators, incubators, and funding networks
Post-camp support for all startups to grow and sustain in the market
Need-based and merit-based scholarship opportunities
Certificates with Singapore-authorised endorsement
Opportunity to attend and witness the KIDx Asia Grand Finale

The Complete KIDx Asia Timeline

From a curriculum research project in Singapore to Asia’s leading youth entrepreneurship platform.

2012
The Beginning
KIDx Asia begins as a curriculum research project in Singapore — a determined effort to answer one question: what would entrepreneurship education for children actually look like if it were done properly?
2016
Accreditation
The Kidspreneur curriculum receives official accreditation from the Ministry of Education, Singapore — one of the most rigorous educational standards bodies in Asia.
2017
Launch
Kidspreneur and KIDx Asia are officially launched — opening the platform to young entrepreneurs and schools across Asia.
2018
Grand Finale, Thailand
Seven regional editions. Three national editions. Grand Finale held in Bangkok at the FYI Center, with $30,000 in investment awarded to the most compelling student startups.
2019
Grand Finale, Dubai
Eight regional editions. Four national editions. Grand Finale moves to Dubai — co-hosted with Gems World Academy, one of the most prestigious international school networks. $40,000 in investment awarded.
2020
KIDx School Co-Host Launch
The KIDx School Co-Host model launches across Asia — enabling schools to bring the competition into their own communities, running affiliate editions connected to the global KIDx network.
2021
Pandemic. Pivot. Purpose.
COVID-19 makes large-scale events impossible. Rather than wait, the founder builds something new — American World School Chennai. A school where the entrepreneurial education that KIDx Asia celebrates in competition is lived every day.
2024
Largest KIDx Event in History
The largest KIDx event ever staged at the IIT Madras Research Park's D7 Auditorium. 1,000+ audience. 15 student startup pitches. Theme: FED — Future of Education.

The KIDx Asia Partners

Made possible by a network of some of the world’s most respected organisations.

Ministry of Education Singapore Apple Nippon Paint International Business School Washington Founder Institute Global Entrepreneur Council Enterprise Singapore Adobe IP Office of Singapore SPRING Singapore

One Founder. One Generation of Change-Makers.

If you are an AWS student with an idea you believe in — KIDx Asia is your platform. American World School Chennai is your launchpad. And the stage — from Chennai to Bangkok, Dubai to IIT Madras — is waiting for you.

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