Salina will be the location of a youth entrepreneurship challenge early this spring.
According to the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, in association with the NetWork Kansas E-Community Partnership, they will help host the USD 305 Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. The competition will take place in Salina this March, as part of the 2024-2025 Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (YEC) series. It will be held from 9AM-1PM on Tuesday, March 4 at Salina Area Technical College.
The goal of the competition is to expose Kansas middle school and high school students to entrepreneurship.
“We are so excited to bring back the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge to Salina this year. This competition empowers the next generation to dream boldly, innovate fearlessly, and build a future fueled by their own ideas,” Jaclyn Crow, Economic and Workforce Development Director of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce said, “We welcome anyone in the community to stop by on March 4 and see all the wonderful businesses these kids have designed.”
Salina is one of many communities across Kansas to host a locally organized event designed to give students a hands-on entrepreneurship experience. The competition will consist of students preparing a written business plan or executive summary, a “tradeshow” booth, and an elevator pitch or presentation.
The students will be competing against each other for $500 in prize money. The students’ work will be judged by local entrepreneurs, public sector partners, teachers, or other adults. This is the 10th time Salina has brought this competition to their community.
“The YEC Series allows students to gain hands-on entrepreneurial experience and begin to deepen their connections to the local business community. Students are empowered through the process and begin to see entrepreneurship as a viable career option. The exponential growth of the YEC Series has reiterated that there is a hunger for youth entrepreneurship in Kansas,” says Bailee Henry, Manager, E-Community Programming.
During the 2023-2024 season, 1,159 students participated in 58 locally hosted entrepreneurship competitions as part of the YEC series. The 2024-2025 academic year marks the twelfth annual YEC Series coordinated by NetWork Kansas and the E-Community Partnership.
The annual YEC series culminates in a statewide championship, where the top students from each local competition face off against each other for prize money and other honors. The 2025 statewide championship will be held, April 17th at Kansas State University. This competition is put on in partnership with NetWork Kansas, K-State Research and Extension, and K-State Center for the Advancement of
Entrepreneurship.
