10 amazing young entrepreneurs whose success can inspire the next generation

Young people need to learn the skills now for the jobs of tomorrow. That’s the message as a new Youth Skills and Innovation Initiative is launched today in New York.

Established by Intel Corporation and the Global Business Coalition for Education, it will look at how to develop the abilities needed by the next generation of innovators, makers and entrepreneurs. 

But one group is already showing the way – young entrepreneurs who have grasped the opportunities that technology and other breakthroughs have given them.

Here we look at some of the brightest young business talents who can inspire other young people to take up the challenge of finding their place in modern world.

Stephen Bartlett

Just 24, he is the founder and CEO of Social Chain – a British-based start-up marketing agency. An internet personality and public speaker, his company runs more than 400 social media accounts across various digital platforms that have millions of followers.

Steven and his colleagues have been called “the kids who decide what all the other kids talk about”. Last year his revenues grew 600% to almost $7 million. He says part of the appeal of the Social Chain story is “inspiring other young people”.

Fiza Farhan

One of Pakistan’s youngest CEOs, she was the only person from her country named on the 2015 Forbes 30 under 30 list of social entrepreneurs – when she was 28.

Fiza is the co-founder and CEO of the Buksh Foundation, which delivers clean energy projects, including solar-powered lights, to poor and rural areas.

Stacey Ferreira

Still only 25, the American founded her first startup called MySocialCloud at 18 – after a $1 million investment from Richard Branson, who was wowed by her presentation.

She sold the business and went on to publish a best-selling book called 2 Billion Under 20: How Millennials Are Breaking Down Age Barriers & Changing the World. Stacey is currently the CEO of Forge, an enterprise workforce management software. She says: “As long as you take the first steps, no matter what the outcome, you’ll learn something.”

Issam Darui

The 22-year-old founder of Morocco’s first electronic bus station which lets passengers book online. The Lagare.ma app is available in 10 languages with the option to pay for tickets in 25 currencies. 

Started when Issam was a 20-year-old university student, it now has 25,000 registered and frequent customers.

Shravan and Sanjay Kumaran

Aged 17 and 16, the brothers are famous in their home country of India for being the country’s youngest app developers. Their company GoDimensions has already developed 12 apps, offering solutions to some of India’s most challenging social problems.

“We’ve always believed that we must do something for society,” says Sanjay. Their latest app GoDonate facilitates the donation of food to local charities that would otherwise go to waste.

Amani Al-Khatahtbeh

Founder of the US-based online magazine MuslimGirl, which she started eight years ago at the age of 17. Amani grew up in New Jersey and wrote a book about her experiences called Muslim Girl: A Coming of Age.

When her first #MuslimWomensDay became the top trending hashtag in March, she said: “When we dig up that courage in ourselves to share our authentic stories with the world, we unknowingly inspire the courage in others to do the same.”

Minjoon Kim

The 17-year-old from South Korea is CEO of Baobab, which allows consumers to buy medical products at up to a 95% discount by allowing manufacturers to compete.

He says: “When I asked poor people about their hardest times, they said it was when they got sick.” His vision is a world where everyone can access medication.

Takunda Chingonzoh

A blogger and international speaker, he is the founder of TechVillage in Zimbabwe, a collaborative working space for start-up companies. He has created three innovative businesses since leaving high school.

He graduated from university last year after juggling his studies and business life. Takunda said: “The future isn’t some distant thing that we get years of life to prepare for. The future is now, it is what we make it.”

Sharad Vivek Sagar

He was still in school in India in 2008 when he set up a non-profit organisation called Dexterity Global, which provides educational resources and training to middle-school and high schools in South Asia.

Sharad said it aims to power “the next generation of leaders through educational opportunities” and “connect the remotest child with the best opportunities”.