How young do you have to be to start thinking about a business career? It’s never too soon, in the view of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. Over the past two years, Hong Kong’s largest international business organization and its members have organized weeklong seminars where kids between the ages of roughly 12 to 15, in the first year of high school, get out of the classroom to meet with top executives and see the trading floors, data centers, and manufacturing processes behind the logos.
2026 was the second year of the AmCham ‘MBA’ program, with two weeklong sessions for seventh, eighth and ninth grade students interested in business careers. In 2025, there were 52 kids, and while the number dropped to 45, there was no less enthusiasm. Each year consists of two weeklong sessions, with largely different field trips and speakers, at both AmCham’s Hub in Central and offices of corporate hosts. Participants can choose which session to join.
In this article, Patricia Tesla, the organizer, talks about the places the students visited and the people they heard from in the first session in two sessions from June 22-26 and July 6-10.
Building on the success of last year’s inaugural program, this year’s camp focused on innovation and leadership. By engaging directly with professionals across technology, finance, manufacturing, logistics, and higher education, we gave the students an opportunity to develop a broader understanding of how businesses operate, as well as the diverse array of career pathways available to them.
One of the greatest values of the AmCham MBA program is the opportunity for hands-on experience that brings the business world to life. Among the highlights, at Amazon, one of the first stops, the mini-campers used Amazon’s AI coding assistant, Kiro, to develop their own applications. The workshop demonstrated how generative AI is transforming software development in addition to highlighting the growing importance of digital literacy across the modern economy. A stop at Google reinforced the lesson that innovation in the AI era demands constant learning and the ability to adapt to new waves of technology.
Next up, at Swire Coca-Cola, the students toured the production line and learned about the role of innovation in the global beverage industry, as well as Coca-Cola’s commitment to community engagement and sustainable business practices. At Crown Worldwide, students got a behind-the-scenes look at the transportation of artworks and high-value goods across borders, while also learning about documentation records systems and logistics.
In the Causeway Bay office of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the largest American sports league, the students learned about the business behind the logo and the players and competed in teams to design the best jersey (with a prize for the winning team). Hewlett Packard Enterprise, a global information technology company, provided a tour of its server room and shared the history of Hewlett-Packard, which spun off its enterprise business from its legacy personal computer and printing businesses in 2015.
At Colgate, the students were able to create their own toothpaste after presentations on advanced dental technology. At Techtronic Industries, the mini-campers formed teams to design their own products, from the viewpoint of functionality as well as user experience at one of the world’s largest manufacturers of Do-It-Yourself cordless power tools and other power equipment.
At Equinix, the world’s largest colocation data center company, students helped install a local area network (LAN) cable, hands-on LAN cable installation project, learning the importance of technical expertise in maintaining the massive data centers powering the global AI boom. At J.P. Morgan Chase, the students saw the trading floor and talked to analysts who shared their own career experiences. Goldman Sachs showed off its trading floor and invited the students to play a trading game.
As in last year’s Mini-Camp program, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park’s Experience Center gave the students a first-hand look at Hong Kong’s growing start-up ecosystem. They tested prototypes of new inventions in the Experience Centre before visiting Arrow Electronics, a Fortune 500 global supplier of electronic components and enterprise computing products, to learn how entrepreneurs generate commercially viable products from concepts and ideas. Camp participants gained a practical perspective on the thorough research and testing required to develop safe and effective products.
Expert presentations by senior professionals including the president of Colgate-Palmolive APAC, Mukul Deoras, Joanne Hon, managing director of Equinix, and Elizabeth O’Neill, Executive Director of the University of Chicago’s campus in Hong Kong, offered a broader perspective on the University’s educational mission, its wide-ranging research endeavors, and the evolving landscape of global higher education.
At Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Chief Financial Officer Simon Ho talked about how to combine creativity, innovation and strategy for effective branding and storytelling. At DFI Retail Group, CFO Tom van der Lee focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI), and how the company uses it on a daily basis to thwart security threats to two of its key franchise businesses, with Ikea and 7-Eleven. Mark Michelson, a former president of AmCham, moderated the discussion.
Throughout each of the two sessions, students encountered industries that, while very different on the surface, shared many of the same priorities. Whether they were visiting a manufacturing warehouse or a world-renowned financial institution, they saw how innovation and collaboration have become central to business success. They also discovered that no two career paths are the same, with many speakers reflecting on unexpected opportunities, changing industries and the importance of remaining open to new experiences.
As AmCham continues to invest in developing the next generation of business leaders, the Mini Business America Camp stands as a testament to the value of experiential learning.
By placing students in real-world environments, the program provides an invaluable foundation for future academic and professional pursuits. As we look forward to next year’s cycle of mini-camps, we are confident that it will become an even more important platform for inspiring young people to explore new possibilities, broaden their perspectives and develop the confidence to become the business leaders of tomorrow.