<p>Frieda’s Specialty Produce President and CEO Karen Caplan, along with a panel of 21 other business leaders, judged the Global Youth Business Plan Competition, held by the Academy of Business Leadership (ABL) at the University of Southern California (USC) in early August.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> One of the featured events of the ABL Summer Business & Leadership Institute (SBLI) program is the Global Youth Business Plan Competition, where teams of students work for 5 weeks to develop full-length business plans under advisement of university professors and their full-time MBA instructors, according to a press release.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Caplan and a panel of 21 senior executives from venture capitalist companies, fashion designers, movie producers, universities and banks, listened to business idea presentations by three group finalists.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> “Having business leaders judge this competition means a lot to our students,” said Anna Ouroumian, President and CEO of ABL. “I am grateful that industry leaders like Karen take the time to support our program and help guide, motivate, and inspire these young entrepreneurs.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> “I am blown away by their business acumen and dedication to their projects,” said Caplan. “It always amazes me how creative and fearless these students can be with their ideas. Supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs is a priority for Frieda’s as a company. We are committed to advance young, future agriculture business leaders in many ways, such as through the Frieda Rapoport Caplan Family Business Scholarship program (through United Fresh Produce Association) and our internship program with EARTH University in Costa Rica.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Most of these ABL scholars, ranging from 11 to 18 years old, are facing major economic adversity at home in either Southern California or in countries as far away as Turkey and China. However, these scholars are committed to invest in their own futures to help break their families’ cycle of poverty.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.friedas.com" target="_new"> Frieda’s Specialty Produce </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
