Kidovate Market at the Bay Centre | Photos credit: sd61schools
VICTORIA – Over 200 middle and high school youth will be taking over the Bay Centre this Saturday to sell what they have spent months making/repurposing. The day will see the culmination of dozens of business decisions youth have had to grapple with. These youth have been participating in Kidovate, a FREE youth entrepreneurship initiative of UVIC’s Gustavson School of Business. The program’s finale is Kidovate Market Day on Saturday, April 13th from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the Bay Centre, and these young entrepreneurs need Victoria to come out to show their support for their efforts.
Kidovate has grown exponentially since its inception in 2019 when there were 26 participants. The mayors of Oak Bay, Saanich, and Victoria have provided the youth with a one day Kidovate business license which the kids will proudly display on their tables.
“Canada needs more entrepreneurs as we have fewer now than we did 20 years ago”, says Kidovate Cofounder Dr. Brock Smith. “Kidovate aims to address this. Our Kidovate Market Day faciliates learning-by-doing to inspire our young people to hone an entrepreneurship mindset.”
“I’m so excited about joining the Kidovate community, and Saturday’s Market Day. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to all year,” says Isla Solbakken, age 11, who has been preparing succulents and other botanicals to sell. “Kidovate is my first time selling goods with other kids and I look forward to learning from, and potentially collaborating with, other young enterpreneurs like me.”
“It takes a community to create an entrepreneur” says Kidovate Cofounder Dr. Claudia Smith. “Research that Brock and I just published in the leading entrepreneurship journal shows that a critical step in creating an entrepreneur is getting them to believe that they could be an entrepreneur. That’s what Kidovate is all about – helping kids try entrepreneurship on for size, and helping them discover that it is a skill that can be learned and not a personality trait.”
Last year, hundreds of customers visited on Kidovate Market Day, but more customers are needed. Kidovate helps youth develop an understanding of business basics and instills a sense of social good at an early age; youth are encouraged to choose a local charity to support by donating a portion of their earnings.
Source: Gustavson School of Business
