Summer Company grants awarded to 12 young entrepreneurs

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Kingston Economic Development Corporation announced 12 students who will receive up to $3,000 in grants to kickstart getting their own business idea off the ground.

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With funding from the Ontario government, the Summer Company provides coaching and start-up cash up to $1,500 to young entrepreneurs between the ages of 15 and 29.
Each candidate will receive up to $1,500 at the conclusion of a successful summer, which requires sustainable implementation of the proposed business, participation in coaching and training, meeting with local business mentors, and meeting all the requirements necessary to operate the business including being able to dedicate at least 35 hours weekly.

Norman Musengimana, Kingston Economic Development’s manager for Start-ups & Entrepreneurship, says while owning a business isn’t exactly typical for people this young, it’s important to get the next generation thinking about entrepreneurship in preparation of what’s to come with Canada’s economy.

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He says the Summer Company is about giving young people tools to be prepared to take over from a generation of business owners on their way out of the working world.

“In the next 10 years, there’s going to be probably 2 billion worth of assets that we have to go through maybe a transition period where the owners have to exit and do succession planning,” Musengimana said. “We want to make sure that young people who are interested in running a business, they at least an experience of how it feels like… we have so many people wanting to retire from their businesses, how ready are we as a community or as a population to be able to kind of take over rather than have some of these businesses get closed down because there’s nobody who’s showing interest.”

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Musengimana says the amount being sponsored as part of the Summer Company isn’t enough to fill the holes that are soon to be left in Canadian business, but that it’s important for communities to be proactive and do something.

On Kingston Economic Development’s website, 12 businesses operated by young entrepreneurs in Kingston are listed as funded programs, ranging from lawn care, to photography, to raising chickens.

Each of the selected businesses will also participate in a showcase in late August – explaining what they’ve accomplished and learned through the process.
The Summer Company has been running in Kingston since 2001.

Owen Fullerton is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with YGK News. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. 

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