Entercard met with young entrepreneurs in Akershus

In the end of January, Entercard met young entrepreneurs through the Youth Entrepreneurship (Ungt Entreprenørskap) Local Championships. Four Entercard employees were in the juries, meeting student businesses from Akershus. The students competed for prizes such as the Sustainability Award, Best Sales Team and Best HR. This is a part of Entercard’s work with citizenship where we seek to support young talents by using our competence.

– I was very impressed by the quality, the engagement and the students’ skills. They had creative stands, interesting products and well thought through businesses, says Kine Holland Søgstad, Head of Treasury at Entercard. She was part of the jury for Best Sales Team at the Follo Championship.

Thanh Fleischer, Kine Holland Søgstad, Camilla Nergård Kurås and Randi Mårdalen from Entercard were in the juries for Best HR, Best Sales Team and the Sustainability Award. The students impressed with their high commitment and creative business ideas.

The youth companies are all registered in Brønnøysundregistrene through Young Entrepreneurship, and are based on business ideas from the high school students themselves. They are free to establish businesses offering products, experiences or services.

– It was interesting to see the variety of services and products, from help services for the elderly, to party weekends and new forms for environment certification. These championships work as a great meeting point for business professionals and young students, says Randi Mårdalen, Head of Marketing Execution, in the Sustainability Award jury.

The students have to consider all the steps necessary to establish a successful business, such as finances, reporting and marketing. They present their businesses by participating in several championships and exhibitions throughout the school year. At the championships, they meet with juries from the business world.

– It was very rewarding to see what is engaging the students, and I was impressed by their steep learning curve. They had innovative HR strategies, for example by focusing on presence instead of absence. They had managed to consider all the important details, and making the necessary changes to succeed during the phase of establishment, says Camilla Nergård Kurås, Department Manager Collection Operations, in the jury for Best HR.

Entercard collaborates with Young Entrepreneurship (Ungt Entreprenørskap) in Akershus, Trondheim and Copenhagen to contribute to young students’ development of skills and ideas.