The Internet is full of young entrepreneurs: from Instagram fashionistas to fintech people. And the truth is that they do actually drive economic development and social change. Isn’t that awesome?

Young entrepreneurs are an inspiration for millennials, or they ARE millennials themselves. And as you might already know, this generation is nothing like previous ones. They are tech-savvier, and they love using coupon codes, shopping online, and traveling. And most interestingly, 78% of them choose to spend money on a desirable experience over buying something that is desirable. Quite a generation, right?

Let’s take Aureta – the mysterious Instagram entrepreneur as an example.

Her full name being Aureta Thomollari, this mysterious Instagrammer was viewing Instagram as a photo filter app a few years ago, when she found out she had nearly 7K followers on the platform without even following anyone herself. According to her, she was shocked at first and started deleting her photos, but then for some reason, she decided to leave things as they were.

Now, Aureta has over half a million followers on Instagram and collaborates with Jordan Watson for a few shared Instagram account projects.

Aureta studied business management in college before moving to Los Angeles where she opened a jewelry store and then later sold her share in that. She entered the business world and ended up becoming an entrepreneur and investor.

It turns out, Instagram is really just a hobby for her.

But with the number of her followers, it’s easy to assume that Instagram can be yet another way of earning money. In fact, Aureta seems to be allocating quite a lot of time to her Instagram account. With carefully picked colorful pictures and well-curated shapes, she creates an exciting mix of fashion, design, and art.

Well yes, this is indeed an inspirational story. And stories like this are countless. In fact, there are many ways young entrepreneurs impact the economy positively, which results in cultural and social change. Let’s dive deeper into this and look into the 3 ways in which young entrepreneurs drive economic development and social change through innovation and new technologies.

1. They use new technologies to promote efficiency
Young entrepreneurs all over the world work on turning ideas into products and services. To do this, they create a fusion of new technologies and art. And they come up with creative applications as a result. Innovation brings economic growth. History has taught us this time and time again. So it’s wonderful how these creative minds take the latest technologies and create products from them to only make our lives better.

2. They help address environmental challenges
If you search the web or any of the app stores, you’ll find countless mobile applications that help reduce environmental impact. For example, iRecycle is a mobile app that allows you to find recycling locations for over 200 materials in your area. All you need to do is type in what you want to recycle, and the app provides you with a list of nearby centers along with contact information.

3. They try to help you save/invest money
Saving money is a tough task, especially for the millennials. A 2017 GoBankingRates survey found that most “young millennials” had less than $1,000 in their savings accounts. Moreover, nearly half didn’t have anything saved. That said, a few fintech enthusiasts have come up with ideas to automate people’s savings and allow them to save money seamlessly.

Just to name a few fintech startups – Clarity Money, Digit, Empower, Robinhood, Zero, Chime, Stash, Acorns, Qapital, etc.

Let’s take Clarity Money. It does a few things to help you save money. First of all, it tracks the user’s spending habits to help them stay on budget. Moreover, it recommends credit cards that might fit the user’s lifestyle. And what is more fun, Clarity Money cancels any subscriptions that the user does not use anymore. This way, technology helps people stay on top of their finances and even save money that they would not have saved otherwise.

Young entrepreneurs bring fresh ideas to life

It’s not easy to stand out from the crowd. And it’s not easy to come up with fresh new ideas that are out-of-the-box and that have the potential to change the world, create workplaces, help boost economic growth, and drive positive change.

Being a changemaker is a tough task. A lot of young entrepreneurs have had a difficult time achieving what they have today. But their hard work is often exponentially rewarded thanks to the speed and growth of new technologies.

While talking about young entrepreneurs doing great things such as launching startups, addressing environmental challenges or helping people save/invest money is inspirational, it is essential to acknowledge that social entrepreneurship and innovation mainly depend on the possibilities young people are provided with.

We all need to have access to education, networking, supportive communities, laws, and policies that empower us to bring our ideas to life. This all partly depends on governments, NGOs, and on us, the people. The thing is, we need to be open to new ideas, to innovation, and we should also always work for it.

The economy of a country will suffer if the entrepreneurial activity is not spread out equally. We all should make it a priority to encourage innovation, participation, and entrepreneurship.

Good luck in changing the world!