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NCAAC & ILF Celebrate Future Leaders at 2026 Young Entrepreneurship Contest Awards
North Carolina’s Next Generation of Innovators Tackle AI-Driven Challenges at Annual Competition
Cary, NC, July 27, 2026 The NC Asian American Coalition (NCAAC) and International Leadership Foundation (ILF) recently concluded the 2026 Young Entrepreneurship Contest, where students presented innovative business ideas focused on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the modern economy. On July 25th, an award ceremony took place at the Cary Chamber of Commerce to recognize their efforts and highlight the importance of our next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, and builders.
This competition has been held every year for 6 years now, each time with a different prompt that challenges students to consider the modern economy in different lights. For this year’s competition, the participants had to analyze the effect of AI on businesses and how to apply the new technology to benefit.
NC 35th House District Representative Mike Schietzelt
“It is never too young for a person to learn the importance of being a builder. That’s not something that comes naturally to a lot of people, but it’s hard work. And I think right now if you look at the larger conversation that is playing out in America—and I don’t want to make this about partisan divisions, because I think there are people on both sides of the aisle that represent both of these viewpoints—there is a debate right now about whether we are going to support builders in our country or we are going to just consume what the builders build. It’s a question about whether we are going to continue to be a nation of builders.”
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