A Heartland organization is providing some teenagers with the opportunity to bring their small business to life.
Old Town Cape in Cape Girardeau is offering Youth Entrepreneurship grants to three lucky people who will get their very own booth at the Cape Riverfront Market in September.
The purpose of the experience is to encourage entrepreneurship in the youth and help them with starting up a business of their own.
This will be a one-day event where teens will be awarded $250 each to help set up their business at the market.
“The Riverfront Market is very special,” Old Town Cape Events Coordinator Sydney Waters said. “There’s live music, we have about 60 vendors set up, there’s tons of great food and there’s thousands of people that come through there every Saturday and they eat lunch, spend time with their families. It’s just great exposure.”
The grants are aimed for individuals ranging from 14 to 18 years of age from the states of Missouri and Illinois.
This is a partnership with Send-A-Friend which will supply the money for the grants.
“They’re a local company who provides care packages,” Waters said. “You can get online and order a care package.
In addition to the grant money, the local entrepreneurs will be showcased on the Cape Riverfront Market social media pages to promote their businesses for this event as well.
Old Town Cape has already received some applications but will be accepting more until the deadline on August 12. The winners will be announced on August 15.
“We’ve had some really good applications,” Waters said. “We’ve had young entrepreneurs so far that already have a small business started. So, they already have that concept. They’ve sent in pictures, that sort of thing. This is actually open to anyone so if you have an idea for a small business, we’re accepting those as well. Artists, photography, small farms, crafters, we’d love to see them.”
