‘Project Generation E’ entrepreneurial program takes flight
How many times have you stopped at a red light only to be met with a group of youngsters collecting funds for their little league baseball team or to finance a trip to participate in off-island competition? Probably more than once.
In an attempt to move kids away from the intersections, consulting firm Sharp Advisors has enlisted members of the private sector and academia to launch the first-ever “Project Generation E” competition, through which young people ages 15 to 17 will learn to, among other things, come up with strategies to fund their causes through social entrepreneurship.
“Project Generation E is a corporate social responsibility program that I developed for my company. It consists of a competition of business ideas that are proposed as a solution to meet the fundraising need of the causes the participants represent,” said Sharp Advisors President Millie Serrano, an entrepreneur herself who for more than a decade has served as a strategist for small and medium businesses.
For her effort, Serrano has enrolled the Turabo University in Caguas, which will host the orientation session slated for Sept. 10 at 8:30 a.m., as well as the subsequent 30-hour entrepreneurial training program during which participants will develop their ideas, she said.
During a second phase, participants will submit their ideas to the consideration of a jury to be evaluated and rewarded with an economic incentive to develop projects, Serrano said, adding that because this year’s program is in its pilot stage, only a limited number of participants will be accepted.
“That’s why we’re inviting interested people to participate in the orientation session, which is when we will provide all of the program details,” she said, noting the orientation will take place at Turabo University’s School of Business.
Project Generation E is sponsored by Walmart Puerto Rico and the Central-Eastern Manufacturers Association. It is designed to involve schools, sports, religious or civic groups wishing to channel their fundraising strategies, using a social entrepreneurship model.
Training sessions will begin next month, while the business idea competition will take place in December. For more information, visit http://www.pymemprendedores.com.
