The journey of Entrepreneurship, The Making of a “Kidrepreneur”
One evening while I was taking a break from work, I decided to turn on the TV for a little distraction. The station was airing a program I usually don’t enjoy that much, but it was noisy enough to distract me. However, I became quite interested when I heard the TV anchor mention that he was about to present an important education segment. I thought, “Why not? Let’s wait and see.” I’m glad I waited because I discovered that TV could be good for something!
The program’s guests were members of the JOE Management Board. JOE (short for Journey of Entrepreneurship) is a joint educational project between Egypt & Singapore—a one-of-a-kind entrepreneurship education program designed for kids (8-12 years old) and teens (13-18). It provides a unique learning experience through which they help kids and teens develop an entrepreneurial mindset and add significant value to the world.
I thought, “This is just amazing, I want to learn more about these people. This is like R-School in a way.”
JOE has been designed to include both soft and technical skills in their programs as they believe there is more to entrepreneurship than just being financially literate (actually, it’s far from being so if you ask me).
Some of the soft skills the board members mentioned include creativity, problem-solving and innovative thinking (Wow! A child can develop these skills through this program? That’s super-WOW!).
JOE offers three programs: Holiday Boot Camp, Fast Track, Comprehensive Track, and each program includes 4 phases:
Phase 1 – Soft Skills: Mindset Development.
Phase 2 – Soft Skills: Communication and Behavioral Skills
Phase 3 – Technical Skills: Financial Literacy and Business Skills
Phase 4 – Final Project and Mini-Market Fair
This seemed too good to be true. A program like JOE might help kids develop a broader perspective, think and act differently, appreciate what their parents do for them, and feel prepared for future challenges. It should also help children begin to relate to some of the subjects they are studying at school, but on a more practical level. And most of all, they’d be doing something useful during their free time. Parents would get a break as well, ha-ha!
If you’re interested in learning more about JOE, visit their website at joe-academy.com.eg or call them at 01200034300.
I’d love to learn whether any reader has tried this program and if you felt the program lived up to its promises. Your feedback would help others interested in the program, and could also serve to help the JOE administrators make changes or improvements.
Well, folks! that’s a wrap. I’ll be back in touch after my next break. In the meantime, send me your thoughts and insights!
**This post is also at R-School’s blog, here.
