Let's Think
Imagine a community where youth can consider entrepreneurship as a career option within a supportive ecosystem. A place where youth are encouraged to be curious and test their ideas, ask questions, and learn from their mistakes. Where youth can connect with and be mentored by experienced entrepreneurs.
Our Vision
Encourage young leaders and support them to take an active role in their community. Produce strong leaders who have hope for the future and the tools to forge a positive and progressive community.
Our Mission
To promote youth entrepreneurship success through the facilitation of counsel and finance.
Our What
Open Youth’s primary focus is to support youth who are interested in creating businesses, by sharing with them the fundamentals and basics of entrepreneurship.
We provide young entrepreneurs with pre-launch coaching and mentoring, to help them launch and sustain a successful entrepreneurial business.
Our Why
It is important for us to engage with youth to prepare them to thrive in the age of disruption.
Education and training are critical to develop the entrepreneurial mind set and specific skills for business start-up and development. But education and training cannot be disconnected from the wider entrepreneurship support system.
Open strives to fulfil its humble role in creating that ecosystem for young entrepreneurs.
Our Objectives
- Enhancing entrepreneurship education and skills development – Through introducing entrepreneurship awareness among the youth.
- Facilitating technology exchange and innovation –Incubators, research and development labs, knowledge hubs, education-industry collaboration, and business mentorship.
- Improving access to finance – Through mentoring as an invaluable resource for young entrepreneurs.
- Promoting awareness and networking – Encourage and support peer networks, utilize media platforms to celebrate success, and to promote investments.
Our How
- Core training workshops once a month to develop leadership, communication, and business skills.
- On-going peer-to-peer mentorship with industries’ professionals to provide guidance during starting a business.
- Bringing together individuals across Open Toronto around specialized areas of interest – such as Venture Capital/Private Equity, Blockchain, Biotechnology, Renewable Energy, Internet of Things, and many others.
- Setting up an Investment Chamber comprising OPEN charter members, angel investors, incubators, venture capitalists, and corporate/institutional investors.
- Showcase investment opportunities to the community in exceptional companies/start-ups by youth.