Young entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurial high school students in Southeast Missouri will have an opportunity to compete for funding for their best business plans. The contest is sponsored by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Southeast Missouri State University.

Students will be able to submit their business plans with the possibility of receiving seed money for their ideas. The center has $10,000 for the winning projects. The competition will coincide with Global Entrepreneurship Week in November.

Dr. James Stapleton, director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, said studies show Missouri ranks low in startup businesses. He said getting young people interested in being entrepreneurs will help spark regional development.

Not every idea will turn into Microsoft, Google or Facebook, but who knows what great ideas are in the minds of our high school students? This competition is expected to encourage students to think of, plan and promote winning ideas.

Projects like this, along with Camp Enterprise sponsored by area Rotary clubs, all help expose young men and women to be the concepts of free enterprise. These are the students who one day will start businesses and create jobs that are so vital to our economy.