BizWorld - The Organization and Program

The BizWorld Foundation's Mission

BizWorld's mission is to challenge and engage children across the cultural and economic spectrum through experiential learning programs that teach the basics of business, entrepreneurship, and money management and promote teamwork and leadership in the classroom.


Our Story

In 1993, our founder, venture capitalist Tim Draper, was asked by his eight-year-old daughter to describe what he did at work every day. Excited by the opportunity to explain entrepreneurship and business to a third grader, he used his daughter’s enthusiasm for making friendship bracelets to create a simulation activity in which students learn to start and run their own business.

From initial funding to marketing campaigns and financial statements, the program allowed students to not only understand how business works, but enabled them to experience it first-hand. The need and demand for BizWorld’s hands-on, cross-curricular, project-based approach to learning quickly became apparent.

In 1997, the BizWorld Foundation was established to make BizWorld programs available to all educators and effectively involve the community in the education of youth.

Our Reach

The BizWorld programs have reached students in all 50 states and 84 countries. BizWorld established its first international franchise in the Netherlands in 2001. Since then the BizWorld Foundation has grown to include affiliates in India and South Korea.

Programs


The BizWorld Foundation offer hands-on, interdisciplinary curricula that connects classroom learning to the real world by teaching key concepts and vocabulary in a way that is creative, challenging, and engaging to students in grades 3-8. The program offerings, BizWorld and BizWiz teach children about the exciting and pertinent concepts of business, entrepreneurship and money management. Both programs foster responsibility, leadership, problem solving and critical thinking skills through a Math, English Language Arts, S.S. and Economics curriculum in a stimulating, fun environment.


BizWorld

Core Concepts: Business and Entrepreneurship

Program Description: In the BizWorld program, students work in teams to start and run their own businesses in a simulated friendship bracelet industry. Taking on different leadership roles, students learn the basics of business and entrepreneurship as they apply for jobs, design, manufacture, market, and sell their products in the BizWorld marketplace.

Duration : Thirteen 45-minute sessions


BizWiz

Core Concepts: Saving and Investing

Program Description: In BizWiz, students play the roles of analysts, controllers and traders to learn the basics of saving and investing. Working in teams, students set financial goals, analyze forecasts, create a diversified portfolio, track their investments, allocate assets and trade.

Duration: Seven 45-minute sessions

Contact

The BizWorld Foundation
444 De Haro Street, Suite 203
San Francisco, CA 94107
Tel: 415-503-5880
Fax: 415-863-2072

General Questions/Comments
info@bizworld.org

Read appreciation of the program and initiative in the post
http://edu-research-news.blogspot.com/2008/01/business-and-entrepreneurship-education.html

Bizworld site
http://www.bizworld.org/

BIzworld is supported by Merrill Lynch, Franklin Templeton.