Zen Marley Mello In World Youth Entrepreneurship
Zen Marley Mello – the founder and CEO of Zanamations an animation video creation business – recently competed at the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship’ World Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge in New York City.
A spokesperson said, “The World Challenge is the signature event for NFTE students from around the globe to compete in a business plan competition. It kicked off with a day of seminars hosted at PayPal world headquarters with presentations by sponsors EY Americas, Zuora and PayPal. The finals were held following a second day of activities at the National Museum of the American Indian in lower Manhattan with participants from 10 countries.”
Zen Marley Mello presenting at the World Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge.
Mr. Mello reflected on his experience by saying, “The WYEC event is something that will stick with me for the rest of my life. It gave me the opportunity to experience people from different countries, cultures, upbringings, experiences and so much more, all within the span of a few days. I was able to connect with people that impacted my perspective on the world of entrepreneurship.
“It opened my mind to the number of problems there really are in the world, and showed how many innovative solutions there are to them as well. I’ve opened my eyes to the greater possibilities of entrepreneurship and I’m excited to explore and learn more about what I can do to help the world.”
The spokesperson said, “Zen began his entrepreneurial journey at Youth Entrepreneurship Initiative’s BizCamp shortly after finding his passion for creative video animations in the summer of 2020. He is a double recipient of the NFTE Youth Entrepreneur Certified after participating in the programme again during the Term Break Program that October.
NFTE Global Partner’s competitors from the U.S.A., India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Singapore, Austria, Bermuda, Greece, and Argentina.
“In the summer of 2022 Zen participated in the BEDC Summer Student Internship Programme where he experienced growth in his outreach creating animations for Mirrors Peer Forward college and career readiness programme. Later that year he created a video for the Cedarbridge Signature School Orientation Programme.
“In the summer of 2023, before enrolling in art classes at Bermuda College, Zen successfully completed the Ignite Young Adult Entrepreneurial Internship Programme where he brought his business to the next level.
“The YEI has had a program partnership with NFTE for the past 20 years to bring their youth entrepreneurship programs to Bermuda. The BizCamps are the core program along with program support for the business essentials courses at the government middle schools.”
Joe Mahoney, Executive Director of the YEI expressed his highest regard for Zen’s participation by noting, “Zen did very well to hold his own against very impressive competition from NFTE Global Partners in the U.S.A., India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Singapore, Austria, Bermuda, Greece, Argentina, and remarkably enough the by video from Palestine. He was one of only a few who presented a plan for a business that was already up and running.”
