More than 100,000 new businesses are started each year in Ontario, 40% of them by young people 25-34 and 16 per cent by youth under 25. 

If you’re young and interested in exploring the possibility of going into business for yourself, either now or in the future, we can help.

If you’re in grades 7 to 10, our Future Entrepreneurs program can get you started by introducing you to an entrepreneurial mind-set and skills.

There’s also Summer Company program details. If you’re 15-29 this program will give you hands-on business training and mentoring, together with awards of up to $3,000, to help you start and run a summer business—and get a real taste of what it’s like to be an entrepreneur.

And if you’re an enterprising student 19-29 you may qualify for an international entrepreneurship placement through the Ontario Global Edge program. Delivered by Confederation College, Seneca College, the University of Ottawa and the University of Waterloo, Ontario Global Edge helps you develop a broader understanding of the global economy and how it works.

Finally, there’s our Youth Entrepreneurship Partnerships program. It provides grants to non-profit organizations to run programs promoting the development of entrepreneurial skills in young people between the ages of 12-29. It’s aimed at those who are under-served, outside the mainstream educational system and/or living in rural and remote communities.