The Youth Social Entrepreneurship (YSE) program is designed to empower youth from diverse and equity-deserving communities with the inspiration, skills, confidence, and support they need to transform their ideas into real-world social impact ventures!
Who Should Participate
The program is designed for youth ages 16–29 from newcomer, racialized, Indigenous, and low-income communities who want to build something meaningful. Whether you’re looking to start a business, launch a social enterprise, or develop a grassroots project that makes a difference, the program will help you turn your ideas into action, improving your live and uplifting your community.
This program is a great fit if you are thinking about:
- Starting a non-profit with a sustainable business model
- Launching a business that creates social or community impact
- Building a social impact side hustle alongside school or work
- Running an existing for-profit business and want to shift toward a stronger social purpose
Program Details
The YSE program runs through three connected stages: Inspiration, Ideation, and Incubation, with mentorship and coaching available throughout. You can join the full journey for a complete, end-to-end experience, or jump in at the stage that fits you best, whether you’re just exploring ideas or ready to build your project.
Stage 1: Inspiration – Seeds for Change webinars
Offered regularly from March to August 2026, the webinar introduces you to the foundations of social entrepreneurship, including key definitions, the social enterprise spectrum, different models, and real examples of youth-led social enterprises in Ottawa, across Canada, and around the world. Webinars are 1-hour long and offered in-person and virtually.
You will walk away inspired, better informed about the social entrepreneurship ecosystem, and connected with like-minded changemakers.
Stage 2: Ideation – Impact Hackathons
Once you’ve learned the basics of social entrepreneurship and feel inspired, it’s time to take action and shape your own idea! The ideation process helps you turn the real problems you care about into social enterprise ideas you can actually build.
Join our Impact Hackathons, where you’ll work in teams to brainstorm and prototype your ideas in a fast-paced, supportive environment. These two-day hackathon events are held twice a year in July and November and bring together up to 30 youth for hands-on learning:
- Day 1 focuses on understanding the problem, forming teams, and developing your concept
- Day 2 is all about building a prototype, getting mentorship, and pitching your idea to a panel
By the end, you’ll turn curiosity and big questions into a sharp, doable concept that you’re ready to start building!
Stage 3: Incubation – Cohort-based Bootcamp
Ready to take your idea to the next level?
The Incubation Bootcamp is a hands-on, supportive experience where you’ll build your project alongside other motivated youth. You’ll join a small cohort of 10 participants and take part in eight 2-hour workshops, plus one-on-one coaching and mentorship to help you move faster and smarter.
You’ll learn practical skills like designing your business and impact model, understanding your customers and beneficiaries, marketing and sales, budgeting and funding, measuring your impact, and pitching your idea with confidence. This all leads to a Demo Day where you can showcase what you’ve built!
📍 Location: CSED
🗓️ When: September to October 2026
💸 Cost: Free ($0)
If you already have a strong idea that’s been tested in your community and you’re ready to build and launch it, you can apply directly to the YSE Bootcamp without going through Stage 1 (Inspiration) or Stage 2 (Ideation).
If not, you’re welcome to start with the Seed for Change webinars or the Impact Hackathons and apply to the bootcamp later in July/August. Selection will be based on the strength and readiness of your application.
Partner Opportunities
We invite community organizations, schools, and youth-serving agencies across Ottawa to partner with us by referring youth participants, co-hosting workshops, or collaborating to expand opportunities for young social entrepreneurs. Let’s work together to inspire the next generation of changemakers!
Contact Hai Doan at hai@csedottawa.ca to discuss how you or your organization can participate. We look forward to hearing from you!
YSE Program Sponsor
The Youth Social Entrepreneurship program was made possible thanks to funding support from:
