News
Congratulations to all the finalists and to Young Enterprise Scotland (YES) for putting on a fantastic occasion. This was a two-day round up to celebrate entrepreneurship across Scotland, showcasing some fantastic business ideas from the secondary schools throughout the country.
The FoYE is an initiative of YES who support around 16,000 young people every year to develop business knowledge, entrepreneurial skills and, ultimately, become more employable.
FoYE incorporates Company of the Year Awards, Team Programme Awards, Scotland’s Enterprising School Awards, and Volunteer Awards. Almost 1,300 students took part in the Company Programme throughout the 2022/23 academic year and more than 120 completed the Team Programme which involved setting up and developing their business ideas.
On May 31st, FoYE descended upon Hampden Park to exhibit the talented students and their enterprises via stalls/stands, allowing potential customers (i.e., event guests) to peruse and buy the products on offer. These included tote bags using upcycled clothing, sustainable drinks bottles using recycled plastic, chopping boards produced from discarded wood, sustainable bookmarks made from material containing seeds that can be planted, and much more.
The exhibition was followed by a captivating awards ceremony and dinner where 12 regional finalists awaited their fate…
We were delighted to sponsor the Innovation Award, won by Social-Eyes from Thurso High School in Highland & Moray, presented by director of Optimat, Hayley Welsh.
Social-Eyes is a Scavenger Hunt / Bingo style game designed to be used by children on both short and long journeys to curb travel boredom, promote family interactions and reduce screen time on mobile devices.
Below are some photographs from the event.
Optimat continues to support YES by providing financial contributions and mentorship to the young entrepreneurial minds that the organisation nourishes. We believe YES and the work it does, such as the Festival of Youth, makes an important contribution to the development of Scotland’s economy by cultivating innovative thought – well done to YES and all the participants that were involved in FoYE, in particular all of the finalists!