#NCOY2016 – THE GAME CHANGER IS A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH!!
On Thursday 6th October,
2016, five JA Student Companies representing each region across the country
assembled in Lagos “the center for excellence” to compete for the title of the
2016 Junior Achievement National Company of the Year Award.
Representing the South
East region was Golden Sceptre Company of Graceland College, Enugu. The North
Central, duely represented by the The Explorers Company of Government Secondary
School, Tundun Wada, Jos and New Era Company of Asokoro Community Staff School,
Abuja. The Explorers Company won the award for Best CSR Project and 4th Place
Winner while the New Era Company came 3rd Place Winner.
Emerging 2nd Place
Winner was the all-girl group of executives representing the South South, the
Excellent Achievers Company of Methodist Girls Secondary School, Port-Harcourt.
The Innovative Minds of Caro Favoured College Ajegunle, Lagos, represented the
South West, shone as 1st Place Winners earning the award of the
2016 JA National Company of the Year.
The Victory of the
Innovative Minds remains outstanding with reference to what they thought of
themselves when they first entered the competition. They came to the Regional
Competition where they eventually won feeling like the underdogs. And now they
are our National Champions. Also they have caused a shift in JAN’s NCOY
history, making this the first time the National Company of the Year Award goes
to the South West region.
#NCOY2016 showcased
ingenuity in areas of technology and the use of recycled products, as we
witnessed a rise in young women and men exploring areas of technology. Team
Innovative Minds (Innoms) hailing from Caro Favoured College, Ajegunle. The
members of Innovative Minds produced Neon advertising lights as their main
product and black shoe polish, arts/crafts as their mini-products. The black
shoe polish was sold to their fellow students, teachers and members of the
community. They chose this product because everyone in their school wears black
shoes and they believed their school could benefit from it. The revenue
generated form their mini-products was used to produce the user friendly NEON
Light which was sold to businesses within their community to support their
advertising needs. Over the course of the school year they upgraded their
product and created a version that was eco-friendly and did not require a power
source. They also provided hands-on after sales service to patrons of their
product.
Their passion, sales
pitch, accounting and community service project was undeniable to the judges
and crowd present and they were declared the winner of the 2016 National
Company of the Year Competition. The Innovative Minds will proceed to Zimbabwe
this December to compete against their fellow JA Africa Member nations for the
title of JA Africa Company of the Year. The Innovative Minds attribute a great
deal of their success in achieving their vision to their mentor Mr. Klechukwu
Igwe, an Engineer who enlisted as volunteer to the students for the duration of
their program.
The judges for this
year’s competition were JAN Ambassador and Alumnus of JA Company Program, Mr.
Tunji Eleso, Co-Founder, Co-Creation Hub; Mr. Audu Maikori, Founder/President,
Chocolate City; Mrs. Bukky Karibi-Whyte CEO/Founder The Bobby Taylor Company
& Invicta Communications Limited and Mrs. Lola Oyeka, Country Public
Affairs Officer, Nigeria & Ghana, CitiBank. The keynote address was
delivered by JA Africa CEO/President, Mrs. Elizabeth Bintliff., who
encouraged the students to push through with their visions despite the
obstacles we face in Africa as they hold the key to successfully rebuilding our
nations’ economies.
JA Africa CEO Mrs. Elizabeth Bintliff and the
Winners of the 2016 National Company of the Year Competition #NCOY2016 Team
Innovative Minds from Caro Favored College, Agejunle who will proceed to
compete for the title of JA Africa Company of the Year in Zimbabwe this December.
(L-R Diko Bright – President, Athanesius Virginia – Managing Director ,Ifediora
Chiamaka – VP Finance & Ogechi Amadi
– VP Human Resources.
JA Africa CEO Mrs. Elizabeth Bintliff and JAN
Chairman Mr. Niyi Yusuf, MD Accenture Nigeria with the Winners of the 2016
National Company of the Year Competition #NCOY2016 Team Innovative Minds from
Caro Favored College, Agejunle who will proceed to compete for the title of JA
Africa Company of the Year in Zimbabwe this December.
Executives of Innovative Minds showcasing the NEON Light at their product display booth.
Article and Photos by: Petra Erhiyoma, JAN
Article and Photos by: Petra Erhiyoma, JAN
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