The Rhode Island Business Plan Competition is an annual competition supported by private businesses, public entities, and nonprofits.

The goal of the Competition is to promote entrepreneurship and the growth of companies in Rhode Island. Though anyone may enter the competition, applicants must agree to locate at least 50% of full-time employees in Rhode Island.

The RI Business Plan Competition was established in 2001 by the Business Development Company of Rhode Island (BDCRI) with a cash prize of $50,000.

The competition was incorporated as a non-profit in 2005 and re-established by the Brown Forum for Enterprise and the BDCRI.

Since 2005, the competition has offered two prizes in a Student track and an Entrepreneur track. For the 2008 competition, the value of the prizes rose to a record high of $150,000.

Recent winners include:

• 2007 - Campus Guardian Corp.
• 2006 - Axon Sleep Labs, PEK Wireless
• 2002 - Farsounder