Over 100,000 businesses are started in Ontario each year with youth entering the marketplace at three times the rate of entrepreneurs over 45.  Almost a third of Canada’s youth-owned enterprises are located in Ontario.

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 a teacher of grades 7 to 10, our Future Entrepreneurs program provides the tools to introduce your students to an entrepreneurial mind-set and skills.

For teachers and students, there's the Business Plan Wizard. It is a fun and interactive online e-learning application that teaches secondary school students how to develop a business plan. The Business Plan Wizard is designed to support teachers of the Business Studies curriculum, but also meets the expectations of several curriculum areas from grades 7 to 12, and introduces entrepreneurship to students as a career option.

Check out the Summer Company program 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 between the ages of 19 and 29, you may qualify for an international entrepreneurship placement through the Ontario Global Edge program. Currently delivered by nine post-secondary institutions, the Ontario Global Edge program helps to develop a broader understanding of small and medium enterprises within the global economy.

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.