4 Organizations Helping to Cultivate Young Entrepreneurs
Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
Founded in New York City in 1987 by Steve Mariotti, a former entrepreneur turned high school math teacher in the South Bronx, Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) began as a program to prevent dropouts and improve academic performance among students who were at risk of failing or quitting school. Their mission is to provide programs that inspire young people from low-income communities to stay in school, to recognize business opportunities and to plan for successful futures. By teaching the entrepreneurial mindset, NFTE provides young people with tools and attitudes to overcome adversity and address future personal, economic, community and global challenges.
NFTE delivers its program through classroom programs, advanced programs and BizCamps. They also sponsor numerous challenges and events throughout the year that highlight the young entrepreneur, including the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge and the 2015 NFTE Global Showcase.
The NFTE has worked with more than 500,000 young people from low-income communities in programs across the U.S. and around the world. As of fall, 2014 NFTE operates their successful curriculum in 19 U.S. communities and 12 countries and continues to expand – sharing and spreading the transformative power of entrepreneurship. You can read about the many success stories of NFTE here.