American-German Business Club Awards € 4,500 in Scholarship Funds
Got a good money-making idea? All you need is a solid business plan to get your idea to the market place. That is the basic premise behind the American-German Business Club's "Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow" program. The best "Business Plan" (all in English) from about twenty young (16 to 21 year old) German high school and university students will be selected this Saturday, 31 May, at the European Business School (EBS), Oestrich-Winkel. The jury, all either entrepreneurs or business professors, will judge which of business plans was best presented, considering financing and start-up costs, qualifies as the best "Entrepreneur of Tomorrow". The winner and runner-up will receive cash prizes, valued at €1,500, as well as a trip to Berlin to compete in the AGBC's national finals.
But in fact all the students who completed the six month long business plan competition (about half of those who started last October) greatly benefited from the regular meetings with business mentors, all of them active in the Rhein-Main region. While some mentors are actual entrepreneurs already, other business executives provided insight into the marketing and the financial aspects needed for a business plan. Since the AGBC conducts all its monthly meetings in English most of the students learned business English terminology not usually taught in German schools.
"Auch wenn wir keinen Preis erhalten sollten, fühlen wir uns jetzt schon als Gewinner," sagte die 16 jährige Julia Kraft vom St. Angela Gymnasium in Bad Soden. Ein anderer Teilnehmer, der 18 jährige Aleksandar Ucur vom Roland-Koch Gymnasium in Offenbach fügte hinzu: "Mit Business-Networking können wir jetzt auch was anfangen. Toll, dass der AGBC das für uns alles ehrenamtlich macht."
The whole idea said Robert Stoffers president of the AGBC Verband and initiator of the program, is to make a positive contribution to German-American relations. "Die Förderung des Nachwuchses und der heranwachsenden Generationen ist uns ein wichtiges Anliegen. Der AGBC versucht dazu einen Beitrag zu dem heutigen Bildungssystem zu leisten. Dafür ist dieses Program "Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow" konzipiert".
The Rhein-Main winnners will meet the regional winners from Southern Germany (Munich) and Berlin in Berlin on July 4-5 to determine which business plan is the national winner. Certificates of recognition and other cash prizes for the would-be entrepreneurs will be presented by U.S. Ambassador William R. Timkin. But first this weekend all the business plan participants will be rewarded with a dinner in the Rheingau vineyard Balthasar Ress adjacent to the EBS. They will celebrate into June to the music of jazz violinist Matthias Lichtenthaler and the 15 Strings quartet. Plus American musicians David Scott Brown and Bob Crooks promised to provide authentic American rock'n'roll to liven up the evening.
Contact person:
Robert Stoffers - national president
Telephone: +49 (0) 176 41152703
Email: president@agbc.de
Association of American German Business Clubs e.V.
Mainzer Landstrasse 176
D-60327
www.agbc.de
What: Selection of Entrpreneurs of Tomorrow business plan winner
When: Saturday, 31 May 14 - 17:30
Where: EBS, Oestrich-Winkel
