Barton County's third annual Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge is live on Wednesday, March 8 at noon at the Great Bend Events Center, 3111 10th Street. This competition for 7th-grade through 12th-grade students from Barton County is brought to Great Bend by Great Bend Economic Development and the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce.
This competition was created to challenge our youth, encourage our business community to partner with and mentor our younger generations, and foster an entrepreneurial spirit. This event is also made possible by a partnership with NetWork Kansas. NetWork Kansas holds regional and state Youth Entrepreneurship Challenges as part of its mission in developing entrepreneurship ecosystems throughout Kansas.
Great Bend Economic Development and the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce partner on this competition as both organizations are tasked with strengthening the area’s workforce for the business community, and in this case, that means nurturing the next generation’s entrepreneurs.
This competition and live trade show will take place at the Great Bend Events Center on March 8 at noon. Students and judges have lunch together to break the ice, and then competitors will begin their formal 4-minute presentations to the judges at noon. The public is invited and encouraged to attend this event to cheer on our student competitors and show their support for the next generation of business ideas, and the winners will be announced at 2 pm.
There is $2500 in prize money to be divided among the top competitors. Third place will receive $500, second place will receive $750, and first place will receive $1000 and the opportunity to continue onto the state-level competition. Audience members will have a chance to vote for their favorite and award the People’s Choice to one competitor as well as $250.