By Chasity Ware, Director, Linn County Economic Development
MOUND CITY – The Linn County Economic Development Department, in association with the NetWork Kansas E-Community Partnership, announces the annual Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge that will take place in Mound City on Tuesday, March 4, as part of the 2024-2025 Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (YEC) series.
The competition will begin at 8:30 a.m. at Linn County 4-H building. The goal of the competition is to expose Kansas middle school and high school students to entrepreneurship.
Linn County 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 a brief introduction or presentation about their business idea.
The students will be competing against each other for $1,000 in prize money. The students’ work will be judged by local entrepreneurs, public sector partners, teachers, or other adults. This is the third year Linn County 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,” said Bailee Henry, manager of E-Community Programming. “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.”
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 12th 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 on April 17 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.
For more information, contact Chasity Ware, Economic Development Director, at 913-795-2274 or cware@linncountyks.com.
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