NFTE Partners with City of San Jose to Present 2nd Annual City of San Jose Youth Entrepreneurship & Innovation Summit, Celebrating National Small Business Week
SAN JOSE, Calif. (PRWEB) May 07, 2019 -- Leading education nonprofit NFTE (Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship) is once again partnering with the City of San Jose to present the City of San Jose Youth Entrepreneurship & Innovation Summit this Friday, May 10. The day-long event will bring together local business leaders, and Bay Area youth enrolled in NFTE programs across Santa Clara, San Francisco, and Alameda Counties. The event, which is expected to draw more than 200 attendees, is supported by PayPal and Work2Future and will be hosted at San Jose City Hall.
“We’re grateful for NFTE’s commitment to empowering young San Joseans with the entrepreneurial skills critical to succeeding in Silicon Valley,” said Mayor Sam Liccardo. “I look forward to our continued collaboration, and welcome NFTE’s newest 150 young innovators to this year’s event.” NFTE, a recognized innovator in youth entrepreneurship education, seeks to activate the entrepreneurial mindset and build startup skills in youth from underserved communities. The organization has served students in the Bay Area for more than 25 years.
One hundred NFTE Bay Area students from 38 San Jose area high schools, including East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD), San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and Eden Area Regional Occupational Program (ROP) will be participating in a live pitch competition during the Summit. These students, now completing first-year NFTE courses, won business plan competitions in their classrooms earlier this spring.
Two rounds of competition will be held at the San Jose Summit to determine the top three semifinalist, who will to advance to the next round of competition in the NFTE Bay Area Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge – the regional finals, to be held at the City Club in San Francisco on June 4. First and second place finishers at the regional finals qualify to enter NFTE's National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge this fall, where they can compete for more than $25K in seed money to launch a business or pursue educational goals.
There will also be a separate competition track at the San Jose Summit for the more advanced Entrepreneurship 2 (E2) NFTE students. The top four businesses in the E2 "Incubator" track will be competing for $3K in seed funding.
Students who win the semifinal round of judging will be acknowledged in San Jose's City Council chambers and welcomed by Mayor Sam Liccardo and ESUHSD Superintendent Chris Funk. Students who have participated in earlier rounds of judging will have an opportunity to participate in a student networking experience with business professionals and partner organizations such as SCORE, Bizworld, and Kiva. Many of the business professionals will come from NFTE’s network of supporters including SAP, EY, Citi, and PayPal.
“PayPal is happy to support NFTE nationally, and especially in San Jose,” said Julie Vennewitz-Pierce, Director of PayPal Gives. “The students’ business ideas and presentations are impressive, and our employee mentors are very inspired by them. NFTE provides the students a valuable opportunity to learn essential business skills and to be entrepreneurial.”
During the event, over 60 volunteers from the business community will have the unique opportunity to serve as coaches to these young entrepreneurs, helping to develop the students’ entrepreneurial mindset and offering advice on how to improve their business plans and presentation skills. Volunteers will be paired with students and encouraged to share their own experiences and achievements in business.
The Summit also serves as a networking opportunity for those organizations and individuals interested in building the San Jose and Silicon Valley entrepreneurial talent pipeline.
“NFTE is delighted to partner with the City of San Jose, ESUHSD and the business community to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit and showcase the incredible talents of our region’s youth as part of the City of San Jose Youth Entrepreneurship & Innovation Summit,” said Alfredo Mathew, Senior Regional Director for NFTE in the West. “Silicon Valley is an incredibly dynamic region, but unless we create onramps to the innovation economy the future prosperity of this valley will be at stake. The cross-sector partnerships that help us to produce this Summit are a model for how to empower our youth and build a more inclusive Bay Area.”
About NFTE
NFTE is the leading educational nonprofit focused on teaching startup skills and activating the entrepreneurial mindset in young people from under-resourced communities. Research shows the entrepreneurial mindset—skills including problem-solving, adaptability, initiative, and self-reliance—leads to lifelong success. Equipped with the business and academic skills NFTE teaches and empowered by the entrepreneurial mindset, NFTE alumni are prepared to thrive. NFTE works with schools and community partners across the country through its nationwide network of program offices. Alliances with global youth development organizations bring NFTE programs to additional students internationally. NFTE reaches more than 100,000 young people annually and has served well over a million students since its founding. Learn more at http://www.nfte.com.
About PayPal
Fueled by a fundamental belief that having access to financial services creates opportunity, PayPal Holdings, Inc. is committed to democratizing financial services and empowering people and businesses to join and thrive in the global economy. Our open digital payments platform gives PayPal’s 277 million active account holders the confidence to connect and transact in new and powerful ways, whether they are online, on a mobile device, in an app, or in person. Through a combination of technological innovation and strategic partnerships, PayPal creates better ways to manage and move money, and offers choice and flexibility when sending payments, paying or getting paid. Available in more than 200 markets around the world, the PayPal platform, including Braintree, Venmo, Xoom and iZettle, enables consumers and merchants to receive money in more than 100 currencies, withdraw funds in 56 currencies and hold balances in their PayPal accounts in 25 currencies. For more information on PayPal, visit http://www.paypal.com/about. For PayPal Holdings, Inc. financial information, visit investor.paypal-corp.com.
About work2future
work2future works closely with employers, job seekers, and partners to foster a skilled regional workforce that is able to stay competitive and satisfy employers’ needs in a rapidly changing environment. The organization offers a range of services for individuals seeking retraining and reemployment, and also for regional employers needing human resource solutions. Programs targeting school-age and young adults allow these groups to get their careers off to a successful start. work2future operates Job Centers in San José, and Gilroy to implement the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014. While administered by the City of San José, work2future also provides workforce development services in the cities of Los Gatos, Morgan Hill, Los Altos Hills, Saratoga, Monte Sereno, and the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County. For more information, visit work2future.biz.
About the City of San José
Known as the Capital of Silicon Valley, San José is the nation’s tenth largest city and the largest city in Northern California, with an ethnically diverse population of more than 1 million. San José was founded in 1777, once served as the state capital of California, and now encompasses 180 square miles. Facts about San José can be found at sanjoseca.gov.
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Members of the press may contact [email protected] for more information.
Ashley Johnson, NFTE, http://www.nfte.com, +1 212-232-3333, [email protected]
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