Budding Teen Entrepreneurs Invited To BizCamp
Budding young entrepreneurs are invited to show their business savvy during an innovative training scheme this summer.
The Youth Entrepreneurship Initiative [YEI] in conjunction with the Department of E-Commerce will conduct two 7-day BizCamps at Berkeley Institute for 48 aspiring young Bermudian entrepreneurs 13 to 18 years old. Session One dates are July 6th to 14th with Session Two running July 16th to 24th excluding weekends.
During these intensive programs, students use textbooks, a syllabus-specific workbook, online research, guest lecturers and field-based market research to learn about opportunity recognition, cost of goods, pricing, marketing and many other aspects of running a company. Their objective is to develop and present their own comprehensive business plan at the end of the session.
Joe Mahoney, Executive Director of the YEI uses curriculum from a combination of sources including the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship [www.nfte.com], Babson College, [www.babson.edu] and the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education [www.ceed.org].
He states, “The goal is to inspire young people to become business-savvy and economically self-sufficient. Participants are provided with a business plan template. After learning the concepts, they complete the plan with specific information for their own business idea and present it to a panel of judges selected from the business community.”
Standing: Nancy Volesky of the Department of E-Commerce, Joe Mahoney of YEI, Jamillah Lodge of the BEDC, Chairman of the BEDC Nick Kempe, Kristin White of The Book Cellar and BizCamp assistant teachers Jazmyn Williams, Brittany Banister, and Misheal Hughes. Seated are the 2014 Super-7 semifinalists: Logan Henschke, Sean Burgess, Mica Hughes, Jonathan Simons, Yassine Chentouf, Zoë O’Connor, and Elysse McCarron.
Last year, 42 participants developed and presented business plans, earning certificates for participating in the program. The BizCamp staff chose the “Super 7” semi-finalists who then competed for prizes during the Business Plan Competition.
Local entrepreneurs and financing partners also came in to present real-world practices. One of those, Jamillah Lodge of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation, who also served as a BizCamp judge stated, “This is an awesome opportunity to see what the future of Bermudian entrepreneurship looks like.”
Former student BizCamp Competition winners return to serve as assistant teachers. This year they include Jazmyn Williams and Misheal Hughes.
There is no cost for students who are accepted to attend BizCamp.
Thanks to the support of the Department of Ecommerce with sponsorship from the Bank of Bermuda Foundation, Tokio Millennium Re, ACE Foundation, PartnerRe and Cellular One, all expenses are covered by the YEI, including training materials, daily lunch, and prizes.
Electronic applications are available at www.gov.bm. Follow the BizCamp link, or send an email to: e-commerce@gov.bm. Participants will be admitted on a rolling basis until there are 24 members for each week.
This is also a great opportunity for them seeking knowledge, in reference to them expanding their personal dreams. “The goal is to inspire young people to become business-savvy and economically self-sufficient.”
And All The Best To All Of The Imohteps In Their Future Endeavors & May They Achieve Their MBAs (Master of Business Administration) In Information Technology, E-Business Or Entrepreneurship So They Can Be Formally Financially Empowered To Be On The Same Business Acumen Level As Mark Zuckerberg