NOETIC SPONSORS YOUTH EVENT
Hattiesburg, MS - Noetic Technologies proudly sponsored a recent youth event on USM campus known as the South Mississippi Youth Entrepreneurship Program (SMYEP). The program provides high school juniors and seniors from across south Mississippi with training in small business start-ups, finances, business plan creation, networking, and professional development.
SMYEP is hosted by the Trent Lott National Center for Excellence in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship at Southern Miss.
“The Trent Lott National Center for Excellence in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship is driving this initiative because sustained economic development can only occur through the entrepreneurship and innovation of our young people," said Dr. Ken Malone, director of the Trent Lott Center. "South Mississippi's future depends upon the innovative and entrepreneurial capabilities of our youth.”
Goals for SMYEP students include learning business basics, what it takes to be an entrepreneur, working with a local mentor to develop a personal plan, and encouraging them to remain in the region by providing local opportunities to build their futures and slow the “brain drain.”
The program, developed by Southern Miss assistant professor of economic and workforce development Dr. Brent Hales, also identifies potential mentors for students based on their interests and skills. He was inspired to create the program as a result of watching hundreds of young Mississippians leaving the state for perceived opportunities outside of Mississippi. Additionally, the program is designed to identify potential avenues for funding for the businesses that the program participants develop.
“One of the goals of this program is to not only encourage the participants to build their business skills, but to encourage them to actually start their own businesses while in high school or college," Hales said.
Currently, about 70 high school juniors and seniors from Hattiesburg, Petal, Laurel and Gulfport High Schools are participating in the program. These students have engaged entrepreneurs in their communities, developed networks outside of their communities, and gained valuable insights into the realities of developing and running businesses.
Additionally, students will seek funding for their businesses from panels of potential supporters at a business plan competition to be held in May. A business plan competition will also be held, and one business plan per high school will be selected to receive a year of free rent and services in business incubators in each community.
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