Teen achievers mean business

By Dita De Boni

Watch out Bill Gates, today's learners are tomorrow's business leaders.

Around 50 young achievers, including 11 international students and New Zealand teenagers, spent the weekend at the Auckland Institute of Technology discussing economic issues. They also heard New Zealand politicians including Max Bradford and Jenny Shipley talk about the importance of Apec.

The students, who are taking part in the Student Company Achievers Forum, have also set up eight mock businesses. Tonight they will present their business plans to a panel of three judges, who will decide which scheme would be most attractive to offshore investment funds.

All the students are part of Junior Achievement International, which means that at their high schools they set up actual companies and generate real profits (or losses) to learn the intricacies of business management first-hand.

Pham Bick ("Annie") Thuy from Vietnam and Nikolai Nikiforov ("Nick") from Russia are two 17-year-olds excited about the opportunities Apec will offer their countries' fledgling capitalist economies.

Pham Bick Thuy thinks that although Vietnam is still socialist, it should give businesses the freedom to develop.

"I'd like to continue living in Vietnam and help my people by solving the problem of unemployment, and because there are very few business women there."

Nikolai Nikiforov is already managing a large regional Internet programme in his home town of Kazan, east of Moscow.

"I'd like to see it become easier for foreign companies to do business in Russia and also for Russia to do more exporting," he says.

Although they are enjoying the mock company competition, both were impressed that high-ranking ministers would take the time to talk to students about economic issues.