THE LATEST LIST OF AFTER-SCHOOL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMS FOR KIDS AND TEENS
A fun way to develop a business and build life skills.
A new school year is here which means that after-school programs are starting up again. Entrepreneurship programs are great after-school activities for students from all socioeconomic backgrounds to learn valuable skills and keep busy when the school day’s over. With entrepreneurship as their focus, these programs teach budding young girl entrepreneurs how to start a business from scratch and share lessons that can be applied to everyday life. Read on for our semi=annual update of some of our favorite after-school entrepreneurship programs for tweens and teens.
An all-year program, BETA Camp’s School Year Entrepreneurship Boot Camp is a 12-week immersive virtual program for middle to high schoolers. Its core lessons are based on MBA and Silicon Valley incubator curriculum. Attendees are expected to build revenue-generating startups; they learn from a network of industry leaders from top global companies. Tuition is $108 per week. Financial aid covers 15%-80% of the program cost for families who qualify. Registration for the January to April 2023 Cohort opens soon.
All virtual and in-person classes have an SEL-based (social-emotional learning) curriculum centered around self-confidence, resilience, and collaborative skills. For example, 9 to 12-year-old girls create unique products, craft marketing plans, pitch their products through role-playing exercises, and sell in pop-up stores or e-commerce shops. For the 2022 Winter Program, your girls have the option to join either face-to-face or virtual sessions. Sign-ups for after-school virtual class starts on November 15, and each class is limited to 12 girls. In-person sessions take place in Beverly Hills, CA and Rye, NY. Girls are asked to come to class with essential supplies for their startup products, which cost around $25. You can also check the website for any changes in the program fees.
Girls Crushing It (GCI), is a space of inspiration for girls who want to build their confidence through entrepreneurship. GCI offers different entrepreneurial workshops every season. 8 to 18-year-old participants must complete Entrepreneurship 101 and Superpower Hour workshops before joining GCI’s pop-up shop. Their upcoming programs include workshops, pop-up shops and a pitch day. Learn more here.
Girls with Impact, “the only live, online entrepreneurship program made just for girls,” equips girls ages 12 to 18 with entrepreneurship skills, confidence, and business knowledge for their future success. Young girl entrepreneurs learn why entrepreneurship is the key to success for any career path and how to turn passion into impact with a business or non-profit in just 10 weeks. Your girls can register now for the two-course options: Girls With Impact 10-Week Academy and Self-Paced 5-Week Academy. Programs start on October 10, and each costs $995. Scholarship codes and financial aid are available for those who qualify.
INCubatoredu is a free whole-year course available in select schools nationwide. The program teaches 10th to 12th graders how to create a product or service startup and pitch their idea, Shark Tank style. It’s then followed by Acceleratoredu for the 2nd year, where participants have to launch their business in the real world and grow it further. Check online to see if your girls’ schools offer this program.
All online courses of Kid Entrepreneurship are free and available in four languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Farsi. Each class can be completed independently and accessed by budding entrepreneurs anytime, anywhere. Kids as young as 5 can join and learn the basics of entrepreneurship, business ideation, and what goes into a marketing pitch. Courses range from 5 to 16 days.
Loveworks Leadership’s Afterschool Leadership program helps grade schoolers in Norman, Oklahoma make “positive life choices, discover career paths, and set them on a trajectory for personal success” through entrepreneurship. Attendees are encouraged to commit to a whole semester for once or twice-per-week, in-class attendance. Cost is $99 per semester and scholarships are available. Registration is ongoing for 6th-8th grade students who live in the area.
In MoolahU, an Austin-based financial camp with virtual class offerings, kids ages 7 to 15 learn how money, business, and entrepreneurship are all connected. Plus, attendees develop a viable business project in just five days. Since all lessons are still online, kid entrepreneurs from around the world can join, too. The 2022 group rate is now $185 per student for 3 or more kids. To request scholarships for your girls, contact info@moolahu.com.
This online after-school entrepreneurship program offers activity-based lessons that teach middle and high school students to develop and market a business idea in a competitive setting. Teen entrepreneurs who joined the January 2022 program recently competed in the culminating Business Plan Competition on May 14. Subscribe to Project Echo’s newsletter if your girls are interested in joining the next round. Tuition costs $650 per enrollee, with an early bird rate of $500.
Rocket Club covers STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) entrepreneurship disciplines in their weekly after-school certificate program for children ages 7 to 14. Young entrepreneurs can build their resume by attending in-person classes in New Jersey, New York City, Chicago, or virtually. To learn more visit https://rocketclub.com/.
A DC, VA, and TX-based in-person camp, SheEO Academy empowers the next generation of female leaders and business moguls. Their weekly business school classes run for 10 weeks and provide skill badges for girls who complete skill-building activities aligned with industry career competencies. When your girl earns all three badges, she receives a SheEO Academy Certificate that she can include in her academic resume, portfolio, or college application. Fees vary by program and location. SheEO Academy also offers one-on-one coaching for those who want to take their entrepreneurial learning to the next level. Your girls can review the September to October 2022 program dates and register online.
Spark is the trusted financial literacy partner at many schools and youth organizations including regional Girl Scouts and Jack and Jill of America programs. Their online Youth Programs, like the Budding Entrepreneurs Club for 3rd to 6th graders, focus on financial literacy and help participants build better money habits. Program fees can go as high as $270, but group discounts are readily available. Your girls can register for Spark’s after-school classes here; program dates vary from September 12, 2022 to February 17, 2023.
Kids ages 5-18 at the Startup Kids Club meet once a week for 14 weeks, either remotely or in an Austin, TX location, to create and innovate a business product or service with 3D printing technology. Startup Kids Club also runs business festivals 4x a year, where after-school club participants sell their products to the public. In-person classes start on September 6 and end on December 14. Some locations offer the camps for free, while some charge $275 per kid or teen. For more info, check out their site here.
Teen Biz Camp by Target Evolution runs for 8 weeks in three phases, including a business starter kit, a 30-day product feature in Trail Blaze pop-up shops around Texas, and an alumni program with access to scholarships and a network of young entrepreneurs. This after-school immersion charges $499 per phase, and 12 to 18-year-old budding entrepreneurs are welcome to join. Teen Biz Camp takes place year-round; your girls can bookmark this link and to see when the next camp opens.
Targeted at the young social entrepreneur, Unreasonable Kids challenges participants to look for solutions to society’s problems. The next 6-week social entrepreneurship program teaches foundational principles of entrepreneurship and starts on September 16 on Zoom. Kids as young as 7 learn how to build a social enterprise, a company that solves a social problem. Students will also focus on building a social enterprise that addresses one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The total per student is $120 or $20 per online class.
WIT, or Whatever It Takes, provides online business and leadership classes for 6th to 12th graders. Participants develop their leadership skills and strengthen their entrepreneurship mindset through WIT’s four courses that focus on specific fields: leadership, social entrepreneurship, small business scale-up, and public relations and marketing. Course fees range from $995 to $3,285. Financial aid is available, and some classes can be taken for college credit in partnership with UC San Diego. Enrollment is currently ongoing for the September to October 2022 classes. WIT also hosts WIT Hackathons in cities around the country. These events provide teens the opportunity to “hack” their city’s greatest challenges, earn college credit, and win $$. Visit the website for more info.
Wiz Kid Learning’s online platform and community provides children with immersive, social, and interest-based live-online courses. Their Digital Entrepreneurship class, kids participate in fun activities and discussions designed to help them understand entrepreneurship – as well as the tools and skills needed for them to make their entrepreneur goals a reality. Throughout the course, students will learn how to craft a compelling business idea, how to pitch and promote their business, along with key digital tools and techniques that will help them on their entrepreneurial journey. Check their catalog for pricing and other course offers.
With locations across the United States for 6th to 12th graders, Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) has been helping tens of thousands of kids and teens turn their talents and passions into real businesses since 2004. The program under YEA! guides students on how to generate business ideas, conduct market research, pitch to a panel of investors, and launch their startups. Classes will be a mix of in-person and virtual for the 2022-23 school year and start dates are offered throughout the year. The full schedule, locations, and applications are at www.yeausa.org. Watch a YEA! kid appear on Shark Tank here: – Rachel Zietz on Shark Tank: https://youtu.be/7LKGE0XvmU0
Know an after-school entrepreneurship program we failed to mention or update for this year’s back-to-school season? Let us know in the comments section below or tag us and the club or program on social media.
2 Comments
Greg K
- September 22, 2022 at 2:36 pmHey I’ve got an entrepreneurship program for kids called Virtual Startup Academy. We’re still working to gain traction but we’re WASC-accredited and preparing to make a dent in the world of education!
Hayley R
- September 28, 2022 at 3:16 pmTREP$ is the award-winning , project-based learning experience that has helped over 50,000 students in grades 4-8 become empowered through entrepreneurship.