Local youths invited to pitch their business ideas at Barking & Dagenham College

Barking & Dagenham College (@BarkingCollege) is launching an online business pitching competition for local youths on 5th May.

Open to all 14-19 year olds who live in Barking and Dagenham, ‘the high-energy ‘That’s Pitchin’!’ competition is being run in partnership with Empowered Youth, a global skills-development academy. Over £7,000 in prizes is up for grabs including cash investment for the budding entrepreneurs and professional mentorship.

Pupils from all the secondary schools in the borough are being invited to enter.

The purpose of the competition is to provide young people with the skills needed to grow innovative business ideas, whilst offering them support and free interactive training workshops to equip them with the expertise they need to hone their business pitches.

The virtual workshops will be held on 10th, 11th and 12th May and will help them to develop their money-making ideas. 14-19 year olds are encouraged to apply to take part by 10th May on the website. The last applications will be accepted on 14th May.

After attending the workshops, they will be presented with a series of challenges to complete. Those who do best in the challenges will be entered into the grand final on 9th June where they will pitch their ideas live in front of a panel of judges.

The winner will receive a £2,500 cash investment for his/her business idea and 6 months one-to-one mentorship from Empowered Youth Academy valued at £2,500. Those gaining 2nd and 3rd places will also walk away with cash prizes.

The launch is part of the College’s annual ‘Inspiration’ event; a series of activities, competitions and workshops, aimed at inspiring students and school children of Barking and Dagenham.

Dr Joy Kettyle, Chief Operating Officer at the College explains:

“We are so excited to launch this competition for the young people of our borough. The free workshops we are providing will mean that everyone that enters will be gaining something valuable from the event. I can’t wait to watch the pitches at the final in June.”

“With the past 14 months of incredibly difficult and disrupted education that the youth have endured, research points towards high demand for more innovative methods of delivering education and content. The key-words that keep surfacing are: Modern, exciting, inspiring, interactive, cool, impactful and rewarding. Well,’That’s Pitchin’!’ delivers on all of those and we’re proud to be involved with a college as forward-thinking as Barking & Dagenham College.” said Dene Botha, founder and MD of Empowered Youth.