Recognizing the Hard Work and Contributions of our Members. The ICSB Award series focuses on acknowledging and celebrating the contributors and leaders who help make ICSB the premier global platform and therefore bring visibility and support to small and medium-sized enterprises globally.

All awardees will receive their awards at the 2021 ICSB World Congress Gala, held on July 16th.

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ICSB 2021 World Congress Awards


The Osman ICSB Leadership Award is the highest ICSB honor, awarded to recognize leadership, vision , and contribution to the International Council for Small Business.

Ahmed Osman was elected President Elect during a special moment in ICSB history. Entering a tumultuous environment, Osman was not shaken by the situation. Rather than be consumed by the circumstances, he remained true to himself by acting purposefully to present ICSB as the prestigious, welcoming, and forward-focused organization to which he felt fully dedicated. 

During his tenure, Ahmed Osman managed to hold the 2019 ICSB World Congress in Cairo. The planning of this event consumed most of ICSB’s resources throughout the year, and Osman was able to work diligently to organize a fantastic and outstanding event. Despite the additional pressures of this planning, including a location change, Ahmed Osman was able to not only establish an incredible Congress, he was also responsible for the design and implementation of the 2019 ICSB Strategy Presidential Conference, which was used as a way to reflect on ICSB’s current status and push the organization forward. It was the fluidity and foundational nature of this event that provided the organization with the framework to push forward despite the year’s coming challenges. Finally, Ahmed’s time spent as President Elect included his participation in organizing the Youth Academy, also hosted in Cairo, Egypt. 

As Ahmed Osman began his presidency, he had already established himself as steadfast, professional, available, and most importantly, kind. These personal attributes managed to flow their way into his leadership style, which helped motivate the ICSB organization. During his presidency, Osman led ICSB in organizing the recommendations of the ICSB Strategy Committee. In turning these recommendations into actionable items, Osman shepherded the ICSB community towards their future selves. 

This future, despite its bright nature in the form of new programs, including Osman’s creation of the ICSB Knowledge Hubs, included many internal and external organizational pressures, which caused Osman to confront his own truths in challenging leadership experiences. However, it is in light of these unbelievable challenges, including a lawsuit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the postponement of the 2020 World Congress in Paris, that Osman was able to exemplify his truly adaptable spirit. 

Therefore, it was with great pleasure that ICSB created the Ahmed Osman Excellency Award. This award is dedicated to those who exemplify the willingness and charisma to lead globally and are able to identify events that engage a truly international audience to bring about greater change for the future of the ICSB community. 


The high honor of the ICSB Presidential Award is given to those exceptional ICSB members who are able to integrate the importance of service and empathy into their roles as innovative leaders. An ICSB Presidential Awardee exemplifies the nature of supporting the ICSB mission and vision to bolster and support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in their pursuit of bringing equitable justice to our global community.

Chosen by the ICSB President, in consultation with the ICSB Chair from the available nominations, this award stands to represent individuals who feel a higher mandate to not just succeed, but rather to bestow their heart into the work that they produce. ICSB is first and foremost a family, therefore, ICSB Presidential Honorees will both be a part of and fully participate in the betterment and advancement of the ICSB community.


The ICSB Global Awards in Entrepreneurship Education Excellence were created to recognize excellence in entrepreneurship education at the programmatic level. Two Program Awards will be awarded: one at the undergraduate and one at the graduate level. The winners will be announced at the ICSB 2021 Congress in Paris.

The following is an overview of the submission process, which begins with a nomination of the program. Self-nominations are encouraged. These initial nominations require a brief nominee information packet including all information described below. Finalists are chosen by the Pedagogy Awards Committee and are notified via email. Those selected as finalists must then submit elaborating documents and commit to presenting their program at the national conference. Finalists who do not present at the conference are disqualified.

Typically, the ICSB Global Awards in Entrepreneurship Education Excellence Committee receives numerous nominations for each award. As a result, it is possible that a specific program might not be selected as a finalist. Applicants are advised that any organization or individual may submit nominations in more than one category. However, no organization or individual may be a finalist in more than one category in any particular year. Therefore, if an individual or institution elects to submit in more than one category and is selected as a finalist in more than one category, they must choose which category they wish to compete in as a Finalist and withdraw from the remaining categories.

 

Chosen by the ICSB World Congress Comittee

The 2021 ICSB Congress will honor members and contributors with multiple awards at the Congress’ signature gala event. All papers and marketplace submissions will be automatically entered into these categories. The awards carry various recognitions and are awarded by the ICSB nomination committee. 

*All awarded papers will be given fast track review for JSBM publication. Additionally, they will be presented at the Gala and be awarded with a Presidential Letter and Commemoration Gift. Other awards associated with the award are listed under the award. 

  • The Best Submission to the Journal of Small Business Management (JSBM)
  • The Best Humane Entrepreneurship Paper ($1,000 Monetary Award)
  • The Best Youth Entrepreneurship Paper
  • The Best Paper from North & South America
  • The Best Paper from Europe
  • The Best Paper from Middle East & Africa
  • The Best Paper from Asia
  • The Best Paper from Australia & New Zealand
  • The Best Paper from the Caribbean
  • The Best Paper on Micro, Small, & Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) & the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
  • The Best Policy Paper Award
  • The Kai Yang Award Best Paper from Taiwan in honor or Dr. Kai Yang
  • The Brian Gibson Practitioner Award
  • The Erik K. Winslow Best Doctoral Paper Award 
    • Best Paper in honor of Dr. Erik K. Winslow. *Lead author of the paper needs to be a doctoral student.
  • The Lillian Dreyer Advocate Award
    • Awarded to a deserving individual who supports women in research and practice in the area of entrepreneurship and small business worldwide.
  • The Kitty Hawk Best Experiential Education Exercise Award
    • The Best Education Experiential Workshop in honor of Dr. Reg Litz

Presented to those who volunteered to help advance the principles of entrepreneurship and, thus, the advancement of society.

Presented to those who volunteered to help advance the principles of entrepreneurship and, thus, the advancement of society.