Our learning support and mentoring programs in 90 Australian communities directly help children in need achieve their goals through education.
View all programs Kidpreneurs lift the lid on the future
23 May 2024
Handmade wristbands, candles and picture frames catch the eye of teachers and students as they browse the market stalls. Shoppers pick through bookmarks and t-shirts, exploring the many products on offer.
Behind the stall tables, the salespeople are also the ideas-people. They’d taken a unique idea and turned it into a real product during Kidpreneurs Ninjas Academy. And they’re taking a moment out of their Year 5 or 6 classroom to showcase and sell their offerings.
Every Australian child deserves the chance to see what’s possible so they can choose their futures. Poverty shouldn’t block a child from learning about exciting jobs or growing the skills to do them. Programs like Kidpreneur Ninjas Academy can be the key to opening the lid on exciting possibilities.
A partnership between The Smith Family and Entropolis, schools run Kidpreneur Ninjas Academy as an extra-curricular learning experience for students in years 5 and 6. Teachers at the school lead the program, giving students a problem to solve in their school or local community.The students work together in teams and create their own micro-business to respond to the problem.
Just like a career entrepreneur, the students follow a start-up business process to develop their ideas from initiation to launch. Students’ confidence and resilience grows as they navigate obstacles and work through challenges turning their creative ideas into real-life product solutions. It’s just the key they need to unlock their potential.
A partnership between The Smith Family and Entropolis, schools run Kidpreneur Ninjas Academy as an extra-curricular learning experience for students in years 5 and 6. Teachers at the school lead the program, giving students a problem to solve in their school or local community.The students work together in teams and create their own micro-business to respond to the problem.
Just like a career entrepreneur, the students follow a start-up business process to develop their ideas from initiation to launch. Students’ confidence and resilience grows as they navigate obstacles and work through challenges turning their creative ideas into real-life product solutions. It’s just the key they need to unlock their potential.
Toby is a Program Coordinator at The Smith Family. Part of his role is to deliver programs like Kidpreneur.
“Kidpreneur has excited the students and given them the opportunity to be creative. Not only do the students have to plan, work as a team and then create their products, but on the market day they are at the point of sale. So many real-world skills are being learned,” he says.
Every Kidpreneur Ninjas Academy is a chance for students to enrich their formal education by developing their entrepreneurial mindset and important new skills for the future. The children who attend can explore their ideas freely in an equal setting to their peers. Then seeing their ideas come to life builds confidence and pride.
“The life skills that can be learnt in Kidpreneur go a long way in encouraging students to be creative, try things, be persistent, solve problems and come up with solutions. Beyond any academic achievement, these sorts of skills empower students to create better futures for themselves,” says Toby.
The Kidpreneurs finished their program by putting real products on the table for sale, giving them a chance to practice their presentation and pitching skills. Toby was more than tempted by the market offerings, taking home a few items of his own.
“As a new Program Coordinator to this community, it was great to see how they run it and how passionate the staff and students are,” says Toby.
“What blew me away was the range of products available to buy – there were wristbands, keychains, plants, t-shirts, candles, picture frames, bookmarks and more: all of which were hand-made by the students."
With Kidpreneur Ninjas Academy making the space to explore, analyse, imagine and build real solutions, the students finished with a treasure chest of goals. These are the future entrepreneurial creators and leaders that will lift the lid on limitless possibilities.
Thank you for supporting programs like Kidpreneur Ninjas Academy. It provides students experiencing poverty with the space to try out being an entrepreneur for real and explore new pathways for the future.
