The Young Entrepreneurs Program

Welcome to the Hawai‘i Agricultural Foundation’s Young Entrepreneur Program (YEP) where student entrepreneurs will create an original value-added product and bring it to the market.

This program is a special opportunity for students to gain real-world experience of building a business end-to-end, including the creation of a product with local sourced material, writing a short-form business plan, production, marketing, sales and customer fulfillment. Businesses receive start-up capital based on their business plan, as well as net revenue proceeds from sales.

We aim for students to learn key business concepts and worforce skillsets, as well as build awareness of the importance of sustaining our local agricultural industry.

Good luck to all the student start-up businesses!

The Young Entrepreneurs Program is one of six programs the Hawai‘i Agricultural Foundation proudly offers to Hawaii’s youths. The program focuses on middle and high school students, teaching hands on experience in building a real-life profitable small business. Last school year, YEP students from 17 schools were tasked to create an original value-added product using locally grown ingredients or materials. Throughout the program students learned to create a business plan, design, produce and market their products.

Mahalo to the Young Entrepreneurs Program’s partners: Alumbra Innovations Foundation, Annie Sinclair Knudsen Memorial Fund, American Savings Bank, Atherton Family Foundation, County of Maui,  G.N. Wilcox Trust, Hawai‘i Food and Wine Festival, Hawaiian Electric, HEI Charitable Trust, John M. Ross Foundation, McInerny Foundation, and the State of Hawai‘i.