Other Opportunities

Take advantage of these activities which can help you develop your business idea and business skills!

 

Scholarship Opportunities

  • South Dakota Retailers Association Scholarship – The South Dakota Retailers Association scholarship program provides assistance to students studying for a career in retail and hospitality businesses, whether as an owner, manager, or employee. Completed applications are due  no later than April 15 for the following fall semester. For more information on this scholarship opportunity click here!
  • Dacotah Bank Scholarship – Dacotah Bank will award one outstanding high school graduate a top scholarship of $10,000. In addition, thirty individual scholarships of $2,000 each will be distributed across Dacotah Bank’s market areas, which span three states: South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota. Detailed criteria for scholarship selection can be found in the application. The scholarship application will open in early November.  To view all the requirements of this scholarship click here.
  • Agtegra Scholarship – The scholarship application period opens in  October  with applications due in January.  Eleven $1,000 scholarships will be awarded. Check out Agtegra’s website here for more specific deadlines and criteria.
  • First Bank and Trust Community Scholarship – First Bank & Trust will annually award scholarships to students attending accredited colleges, universities, or technical schools in the fall. Scholarships will be awarded at $1,000 each, and the number of scholarships awarded will vary by location. The applications will open in the fall with a deadline to apply in March.  Click here to apply today!
  • Build South Dakota Scholarship – The Build South Dakota Scholarship Applications are open from January 1 through March 31. This scholarship is open to students who are planning on attending a tech school in a high need program. For the full list of programs which are eligible for these scholarships, click here!
  • Plains Commere Bank Scholarship -The Plains Commerce Bank High School Scholarship is a fantastic opportunity for graduating high school seniors in South Dakota seeking to attend an accredited college, university, vocational technical school, or community college on a full-time basis. To be eligible, you or your parents must be a customer of Plains Commerce Bank.  The scholarship are offered in Aberdeen, Sioux Falls, Mitchell, and Watertown.  Applications are due in April. For the full details, click here!
  • Missouri River Energy Services Scholarship – MRES has established a scholarship program to assist high school seniors with full-time educational pursuits that are related to the electric industry. Each year MRES awards up to 12 scholarships in two categories: undergraduate studies and powerline/lineworker programs.  Applications are due in March.  Click Here for more details on each scholarship.
  • Northwestern Energy – Northwestern’s Community Works Scholarships are awarded through partner institutions in South Dakota, Nebraska and Montana.  An overview of the program can be found here.

Other Opportunities

  • Local organizations including the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and SCORE offer small business education events throughout the year. To learn more about the current offering, visit the SBDC website
  • Giant Vision Student Business Plan Competition – Compete for $5,000 to help get your business idea off the ground.  Applications are due January 20, 2026. For those selected as qualifiers, the day of competition will be Wednesday, February 25th at the Ramkota Hotel & Conference Center in Pierre. Lean more at https://www.southdakotagiantvision.com
  • SD Fast Launch – designed to assist South Dakota entrepreneurs and small businesses with beginning and expanding their business through the South Dakota Giant Vision Competition and SBIR/STTR funding. Here are the links to their website.
  • Dakota State University – Business plan competition for high school students which occurs in late March.  Application deadline is about a month prior to the final event.  The Competition will take place on the campus of DSU.  For more information contact Brenda.Merkel@dsu.edu for more 2026 details.
  • Invent 2 Innovate (i2i) Student Competition –business model competition with a high school and college division which occurs in the spring. Click here to view the website for details on the next competition.
  • Career and Technical Student Organizations – many include entrepreneurship topics as part of their state competitions typically held in March/April. Such organizations include DECA, FCCLA, FBLA, FFA, and Skills USA. If you don’t have any of these in your high school, ask your principal about starting a chapter!
  • Congressional App Challenge – A free national digital app competition open to high school and middle school students in SD. Any coding program can be used and there is no restrictions on type of app. They have resources to learn to code and are accepting entries from all skill levels. Learn more here at their website! https://www.congressionalappchallenge.us/ The deadline to register is October 30th! Click here to register:  Registration open for 2025
  • VentureLab Spark Startup ESTEAM Mentorship & Materials Program– VentureLab’s ESTEAM Mentorship and Materials Program provides youth ages 8-18 with 1-1 mentor support for four months and up to $500 in materials to help start or scale their business. Fall cohort applications are due by: August 21st.        Register at: https://venturelab.org/venturelab-spark/
  • Institute of Competition Sciences (ICS)– The Institute of Competition Sciences has been defining best-practices in competition strategy, design, and operations since its founding in 2012. We aim to create an international system of high educational motivation, engagement, and impact through academic competition. https://www.competitionsciences.org/about/