Some Fort Smith students recently had an interesting crash course in the world of business.
The town recently hosted a PWK Youth Entrepreneur Showcase. It gave students from Grade 7 and 8 the chance to show off their innovative business ideas. The event was held at the PWK gym on March 23rd, with approximately 50 students in attendance. Those students showed off their projects to the more than 250 people in attendance.
Namiko Harris, the Economic Development Assistant for the Town of Fort Smith, helped to explain how this event got set up.
“We partnered with a company called Power Play Youth Entrepreneurs, who are based in British Columbiaough talks and consultations, they selected us as one of the first communities in the North to participate in this program. So basically, what they aim to do is to help young Canadians to prepare for the future of work.”
(Photo provided by Town of Fort Smith)
He went on to share a few details for how exactly the event functioned.
“We got resources from them [PPYE], the students went through six to eight weeks planning their businesses, market research, feasibility study, testing their product, building with other people and among themselves. It was something we envisioned for a very long time, so to see it come to fruition at this stage, we were very proud of it.”
Harris also mentioned that Fort Smith will likely try to host the event again in the future. One of the goals of the event that he mentioned was to encourage young entrepreneurs to keep their innovative energies in Fort Smith, and help build on to the local economy.
The showcase featured a wide variety of businesses, including fashion, crafts, and technology. Some of the standout businesses featured items such as magnets, wooden signs, keychains, artwork and more. The event was a great opportunity for young entrepreneurs to gain exposure and build their networks. Many of the businesses received interest from customers, and some even had opportunities to further develop products. Fort Smith is the first northern community to participate in this initiative.
This event also had a fortunate conclusion. As part of the event, the students were asked to give ten percent of their profits to a charity of their choosing. Most students ended up choosing either the local animal shelter, or the Fort Smith Food Bank. In total, the students ended up donating around $700 to either organization.
