In the summer of 2026, 25 young people from 11 countries walked into the Genesis Centre in Northeast Calgary as strangers, many having never considered that entrepreneurship could be for them. Over four Saturdays, Neighbors International’s Youth Entrepreneurship Empowerment Program (YEEP) turned that group into a true cohort. Seven speakers and mentors, many of them newcomer and immigrant entrepreneurs themselves, led sessions on business ideas, foundations, finance, vocational skills and mentoring. A hands-on bracelet-making workshop became one of the most energized sessions of the program, proving that pairing practical, tactile learning with big ideas makes entrepreneurship feel real, not theoretical. By week four, these youth were pitching their own business concepts with confidence, and 22 of them (an 88% completion rate) graduated at a public event with a certificate they had earned.

Cohort 1 is our proof of concept, and we are already building on it. Partner with us to help the next generation of newcomer youth turn their ideas into enterprises.