August 12, 2014 – Kansas City Startup Village and Affinity Enterprise Group announced today that they will host the second annual MECA Challenge event in Kansas City on October 2nd, 4th, and 5th. MECA Challenge brings together high school and college students, organizes them into teams, and positions them to compete against each other while solving real business problems for Kansas City startups. Participants will receive prizes sponsored by community supporters, such as the Unified Government of WyCo/KCK and Wyandotte Economic Development Council.

“MECA Challenge is a great opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to gain awareness of the thriving entrepreneurial community in Kansas City and to get seeded into that community. Last year’s participants had such positive feedback about the event, we knew we had to find a way to do it again,” explained Adam Arredondo, Co-Founder of Kansas City StartUp Village and event organizer for MECA Challenge.

One such student participant was Mohamed Dia, a junior at Lincoln College Preparatory Academy. Dia’s response to his experience last year was a call for other students to try out entrepreneurship. “MECA Challenge is a real life, problem solving experience, and it’s really fun! Entrepreneurship is awesome when you try it, believe me.” said Dia.

Students aren’t the only ones who benefit. Brittain Kovak of Hostel KC, a Startup participant from last year’s competition stated, “Though the MECA Challenge was initially designed for students to get experience in solving real-world business problems, we benefitted greatly from our involvement as a company in the competition as well. Sometimes you need a fresh look into how you’re doing things, and that’s exactly what the students gave; new ideas and innovative ways to connect with our customers. Beyond the competition, many of the students have found ways to stay engaged in the entrepreneurial community and even gone on to get jobs with some of KC’s rising startups!”

This year’s MECA Challenge will take place at the Sprint Accelerator in downtown Kansas City and will accommodate 64 students and 8 startups, doubling the number of participants from last year.

MECA Challenge is open to any high school or college student in the Kansas City Metro area. Students who are interested in participating can apply on the event website: www.MecaChallengeKC.com.

The Kansas City Startup Village (KCSV) is an entrepreneur-led community helping to grow and support Kansas City entrepreneurs and the startup ecosystem. Visit www.kcstartupvillage.org for more information.

Affinity Enterprise Group is a constellation of companies created to empower and support investors in the residential real estate industry. Affinity includes companies like National Real Estate Insurance Group, Affinity Group Management, American Association of Private Lenders, Community Buying Group, and more. Visit www.AffinityEG.com for more info.

Press Contact: Abby Zwier, azwier@affinityeg.com, 816-398-4111.