Students under the age of 18 with an idea for a new technology-related business are invited to take part in the Youth Pitch competition.Youth Pitch is a separate category of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation’s Rocket Pitch competition, with a focus on technology.This year the preliminary round of the Youth Pitch will be held on October 12 and takes place during Bermuda Tech Week 2020, hosted by the Bermuda Business Development Agency and FinTech Bermuda. BEDC, in partnership with the Economic Development Department, will be looking to find the top two technology-driven ideas to advance to the Youth Pitch finals scheduled on November 18 as part of Rocket Pitch. Gina Tucker, director of education, FinTech Bermuda, said: “Our team discussed the need to include a youth component to Bermuda Tech Week 2020 in addition to the Education Summit, and it made perfect sense to partner with the BEDC since they have for the last three years, run a Pitch Competition for young entrepreneurs. “The only difference this year is that the focus will be on technology. I encourage all students to enter the competition.” Participants have five minutes and eight slides to tell the story of their business or idea to a panel of judges and then respond to questions. For the Youth Pitch category, this process will involve a public preliminary competition to be held on October 12 during Bermuda Tech Week 2020. First and second-place participants will receive $3,000 and $1,000, respectively, which includes a start-up package of cash, and services to assist with the development of their business idea. Additionally, this year all those that submit their pitch kits for the competition will be entered into a draw where one lucky person will win an iPhone. Raymond Lambert, director of micro, small and medium enterprises at BEDC, said: “This is a great opportunity to turn your business idea into reality. What we have found is that young people look at things from a different perspective, and this year we are looking forward to some very exciting submissions.” Last year’s Youth Pitch winner, Ahmani Peets pitched Ahmani’s Cookie Company. Greg Mwangi and Zaire Lodge placed second with ‘Moov’, an app that tracked bus schedules and alerted users when a bus was near their stop. Mr Peets said Youth Pitch had helped him grow his business.“More people became aware of my business and I used the prize money to buy cases for my vendors as I got more locations and I have a commercial mixer now.” He added: “I was able to show people that autism defines a person who is unique. Just because someone has autism, it doesn’t mean that they can’t do things that are great.” BEDC will host free workshops for Youth Pitch entrants that will consist of presentation tips and coaching. Entrants are encouraged to download their Pitch Kit guide from www.gew.bm. Complete the Pitch Kit and submit it through www.gew.bm or e-mail it to info@bedc.bm. The submission deadline is Friday, September 25 by 5pm. For further details, e-mail info@bedc.bm