Young Enterprise Scheme

Get involved - join the Young Enterprise family

The Southland Business Chamber contributes to a positive future for business by delivering The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) across Southland on behalf of the Young Enterprise Trust.

You too, can get involved with the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES), a programme that encourages innovation and provides foundation business skills for the next generation of business leaders.

What is YES?

Young Enterprise inspires the next generation of business leaders, disruptors, and changemakers, helping to create a generation of business savvy and financially competent Kiwis.

Senior secondary students set up and run their own business, operating with real profit and loss.

In addition to starting a business, YES companies are also part of a regional and national competition. There are 21 YES regions across the country with teams competing to become the Regional Champion.

There are 5 YES Challenges, each worth a certain number of points that add up to 100 total points. After 5 Challenges, the 6 top teams will be invited to pitch at the Regional Final.

At the Regional Final, the teams pitch to a panel of judges to see who best meets the criteria to become the Regional Champion. Each Regional Champion is then invited to pitch at the National Final in December, with two company members being flown to Wellington to pitch and attend the Awards Gala Dinner!

Students learn by experiencing the value of innovative thinking and develop enterprising attributes. YES is an incredible learning experience that thousands of students participate in each year.

How can I support Young Enterprise in Southland and Lakes District?

Sponsorship Opportunities are available for a small investment. This sponsorship adds vital income which supports our ability to effectively deliver the programme right across Southland and the Lakes District.

Your donation can assist with:

Supporting YES teams with their pitches
Provide judges for YES teams
Ensuring that we have motivational guest speakers for the regional awards
Provide sales training to the YES teams
Support YES challenges throughout the year
Advertising and marketing of YES annual events
Support the Farmers Market event for YES teams

Should you choose to sponsor Young Enterprise through the Southland Business Chamber, please get in touch. Download our Sponsorship Package and Opportunities document to find out how you can get involved.

The support of our sponsors makes YES such an authentic and positive experience for our students, and we consider ourselves very lucky to have so many passionate people supporting the programme. Locally this includes Southern Institute of Technology, SBS Bank, Community Trust South, Findex, South Port NZ Ltd, COIN South, What’s on Invers, VetSouth, ILT Foundation and Craigs Design & Print. Click here to view our national family of sponsors.

Join our Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme Southland Facebook group to keep up-to-date with local YES news and upcoming events.

YES Mentors

Mentors provide guidance to students as they navigate starting their own business. This is a one-year commitment. As a voluntary mentor, you will engage and challenge the students, and act as a sounding board for their strategies and ideas.

Speed Coach Kickstart | Tīmata 2022

Come along to Kickstart | Tīmata 2022 to speak with a variety of YES companies about their business concepts at the start of the YES programme. It’s a quickfire round of mentoring where you’ll act as a sounding board for the ideas of several YES companies in a short space of time. You can volunteer as a Speed Coach regularly or as a one-off, with each event requiring roughly a 2-hour time commitment. Click here.

Get in touch today leanne@southlandchamber.co.nz