NEUSTADT: Saugeen Connects, a partnership between Saugeen Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) and seven municipalities, Arran-Elderslie, Brockton, Hanover, Minto, Wellington North, West Grey, and South Bruce, are promoting youth starting their own business this summer with the Saugeen Student Start-Up Program (SSUP). This is the program’s fourth year running, and it has helped over 147 students gain entrepreneurial experience by providing start-up funding and valuable training opportunities to try entrepreneurship.

This year we have done an overhaul on our program and revamped it with more interactive-based workshops. To kick off the program this year, we will have Jessica Flynn, CEO and Founder of Foundations for The Future: The You Power Project as our keynote speaker, speaking on “Believing Anything Is Possible” to help inspire and motivate students to pursue their dreams and overcome obstacles as they navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship and innovation.



SSUP has partnered this year with The You Power Project for a variety of workshops, such as Creating a Wall Worthy Vision Board’, which will help students develop a clear vision of their personal and professional goals. Another workshop is ‘The Power of YOU’, which will help guide students through the process of finding their business niche and crafting a compelling elevator pitch. The third workshop we have with the You Power Project is ‘Building a Business Card’ using creative tools like Canva and Adobe. SUPP has also partnered with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and their Future Launch Champions program to provide a ‘Making Sense of Savings’ workshop to help students understand the importance of financial literacy. Our final workshop will be on how to advertise your business using TikTok.

This program is designed to fuel creativity and business skills for youth in the area. Students start by completing a small business plan application, and eligible applicants can earn $150 cash in start-up funds for their business. Throughout the program, youth can attend workshops and earn bonus cash for every workshop and deliverable they hand in. This is an opportunity for youth to earn an added bonus of $150 cash for their business. To close off the program, youth will submit their final business evaluation for an additional $150. In total, youth enrolled in the SSUP program have the potential to earn up to $450 cash for their summer business plus their own business profits. Saugeen Connects has committed time, resources and cash to spark this program and is now looking for companies and organizations to join us in investing in our future leaders and entrepreneurs.

Applications are being accepted until Friday, May 5^th, 2023, with successful applicants being notified by Friday, May 26^th, 2023.

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