Building the next generation of entrepreneurs

YOHANCE Rivas, 17, is inspiring. At a workshop for students on technology and entrepreneurship he so impressed businessman Oliver Sabga that he was offered an internship on the spot.

“He started asking questions that led into another, and it was there I realised he was not just looking to network,” Sabga recalls. “He was really interested in my business model and had a genuine thirst for knowledge. I was impressed.”

In turn, Yohance said he was inspired by Sabga’s persistence and determination to make his business, Term Finance, a success.

“I would like to become a businessman one day and I always find stories like Mr Sabga’s to be continued motivation for me to achieve my goal,” he said.

Their encounter is a good illustration of the role successful business people can play in the lives of the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Today’s executives have the experience needed to identify talent and the resources to nurture it. Workshops like TecYouth, which was held by Youth Business TT (YBTT) and the Telecommunications Services of TT (TSTT), have an important role to play in getting everyone to the same table. Mentorship is needed to take individuals over the finishing line.

But giving a young person a chance can be meaningful in profound and unexpected ways. It can literally save lives, giving young people a chance to realise their potential. Yohance’s energy and curiosity suggest he would have found a way because of his vision. Business is invention, he says, in a sign of his forward-thinking.

We’d also like to single out five students — Sarah Ali, 18; Mya Samuel, 16; Anjaili Christopher, 17; Chris Ramdeen, 17 and Matthew McDowell 17 — of Cowen Hamilton Secondary School. They were runners-up in the National Secondary School Entrepreneurship Competition (NSSEC), a competition targeting secondary school students using a simulation that brings the business world into the classroom.

Though they did not take home first place, the experience has opened their eyes to the world of business, giving them useful perspective and transferable skills. That an English teacher, Marsha Singh, helped them in the NSSEC speaks volumes to the dedication of adults like her and Sabga to invest their time in young people.

All of these hopeful examples are in stark contrast to the fate of some of our less fortunate young people today.

Newsday columnist, teacher, and writer Debbie Jacob recently highlighted the case of 25-year-old Dejean Broker, a former student whom she encountered during her work with prisoners. His murder, on a ward of the Port of Spain General Hospital of all places, brought to an end a bright youth who couldn’t seem to overcome his circumstances to break free of crime.

We must applaud initiatives like the global entrepreneurship week, in which the TecYouth workshop took place, and the Ministry of Education for working with young people, opening their eyes to what they can achieve as entrepreneurs. Hopefully, more platforms like these can be created to inspire youths and give chances to others like Dejean.