JA Ghana organized its maiden Company of the Year (COY) Competition for Senior High School students in Accra on October 6, 2018. The COY Competition is the premier pitch competition for senior high school entrepreneurs. The competition brought together students from three high schools in Accra: Labone Senior High School, Accra Academy and Alpha Beta Christian College, who have completed the JA Company Program®. The JA Company Program® teaches high school students to be entrepreneurs by giving them the opportunity to start and run a business while they are in school. Finalists from participating schools compete to demonstrate their business acumen, creativity and entrepreneurial thinking as they present the ideas, products and companies they have created. They are evaluated by an panel of judges.
The 2018 COY Competition was won by VERMO from the Alpha Beta Christian College at Dansoman, Accra. VERMO specializes in providing a Virtual Reality experience for young people to deconstruct and simplify complex and abstract concepts that they learn in school through videos, video games and other mobile applications.
The team will represent Ghana at the JA Africa Regional COY Competition from December 5-7, 2018 where they will compete against other young people from 13 African countries where JA operates. Mogul Industries, from Alpha Beta Christian College and JACO Unlimited from Accra Academy won the second and third place prizes respectively. Ernskoff Africa from Accra Academy, went away with the Social Impact Award. The Social Impact Award seeks to reward a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility and impact. Ernskoff Africa embarked on a waste segregation exercise Accra Academy to contribute to keeping the schools environment clean. Other student companies that participated in the competition were Black Ice and Labelle Cosmetics from Labone Senior High School.
Speaking after the competition, the CEO of VERMO, Nii Nortey Morton remarked “Of all the good things that have happened in our lives, the excitement of winning the Company of the Year Competition was unparalleled. The values that we have clung to – dedication, perseverance and hard work – is what has led us to victory. We appreciate the support of our coaches and our school”.
The Executive Director of JA Ghana, Mr. Odjobi Kwakye, noted in his closing remarks that “… the world of work is changing rapidly and that the future of work is Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, ICT, Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering”. He further encouraged the students, particularly girls, to develop interest and passion for careers in STEM fields.
The next cycle of the JA Company Program® in Ghana will be funded by Delta Air Lines.