JA Africa Company of the Year (COY) Competition Holds in Lagos From December 7-9

The JA Africa (https://JA-Africa.org/) Company of the Year (COY) Competition, Africa’s largest high school entrepreneurship competition returns for the 12th year in a row and first in-person meeting post-COVID, after two successful virtual competitions. Lagos, Nigeria will take center stage for this competition from 7th to 9th December under the theme, “Fueling Changemakers.”

COY is JA Africa’s annual celebration of winning teams from the JA Company Program, a program which equips senior secondary school level students with the entrepreneurial skillset and mindset to solve problems in their communities by launching a business venture and unleashing their entrepreneurial spirit. The young entrepreneurs who compete at the JA Africa’s COY go through qualifying competitions at national and sub national levels, competing against thousands of youth startups to qualify for the regional competition. This program transitions them into employment and transforms them into employers. Having emerged as national winners, they will represent their countries on the continental stage where they have the arduous task to impress a panel of international business professionals who serve as judges.

“Given the increasingly complex set of global challenges facing young people around the world from unemployment to climate change and food shortage, we focus on equipping our students to be solution providers who bring about positive change within their communities while developing businesses that generate wealth,” said Simi Nwogugu, JA Africa’s CEO. “Our students have demonstrated great resilience and innovation in grappling with these challenges and I am extremely proud of all of them. I am also deeply grateful to all our sponsors who stayed with us throughout the pandemic period and contributed greatly towards making this a live event again.”

This year, nine student startups representing Eswatini, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe will put their business acumen to the test as they present the achievements of their businesses in numerous formats in order to win the prestigious title of JA Company of the Year and other amazing prizes from the sponsors. The highest among the prizes at stake will be the opportunity to represent the Africa region at the Ralph de la Vega Global Entrepreneurship Competition which will bring together COY winners from the six regions where JA Worldwide operates to compete for awards, $15,000, educational opportunities, and more.

The 2022 JA Africa COY Competition is made possible by the generous support of Headline sponsors: FedEx, Citi Foundation and PMIEF; Platinum sponsors: Bloomberg, Johnson & Johnson, Delta Air Lines and FirstBank Nigeria; Gold sponsors: Tomorrow Foundation, Nascon, GB Foods and Rise, who by supporting this competition are demonstrating their commitment to job creation and youth empowerment on the African continent. For more information, visit: https://bit.ly/3ugeY9C

About JA Africa:
As one of Africa’s largest and most-impactful youth-serving NGOs, JA Africa has a presence in 13 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and collectively reaches over 300,000 youth in more than 3,000 schools each year. JA Africa works in Côte d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Visit ja-africa.org for details.

About FedEx Corp.:
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenue of $95 billion, the company offers integrated business solutions through operating companies competing collectively, operating collaboratively and innovating digitally under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its nearly 550,000 employees to remain focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. FedEx is committed to connecting people and possibilities around the world responsibly and resourcefully, with a goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2040. To learn more, please visit fedex.com/about.

About PMI Educational Foundation:
PMI Educational Foundation (PMIEF) is a 501(c)(3) supporting organization of the Project Management Institute (PMI), the world’s leading not-for-profit professional membership association for those who consider project, program, or portfolio management as their profession. Founded in 1990, PMIEF cultivates long-term relationships with nonprofits across the globe to help them integrate project management in their youth programs and to build their own project management capacity. The foundation achieves its mission to “enable youth to realize their potential and transform lives through project management” and its vision for “inspiring youth to achieve their goals, making dreams a reality” by investing in high-quality organizations that exemplify a commitment to preparing young people for 21st century success and an appreciation for both the societal application and value of project management. Visit https://bit.ly/3VlNLy5 for more information. 

About Delta Air Lines:
Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is the U.S. global airline leader in safety, innovation, reliability and customer experience. Headquartered in Atlanta and powered by employees around the world, Delta has for a decade led the airline industry in operational excellence while maintaining our reputation for award-winning customer service. We are dedicated to ensure the future of travel (https://bit.ly/3ih8gxl) is personalized, enjoyable and stress-free. Our people’s genuine and enduring motivation is to make every customer feel welcomed and respected across every point of their journey with us.

As the leading global airline, Delta’s mission to connect the world creates opportunities, fosters understanding and expands horizons by connecting people and communities to each other and their potential. We believe social responsibility lies at the intersection of our values and expertise, guiding our work in sustainability, our communities, and diversity, equity and inclusion.  Delta is proud to partner with 32 JA chapters across 5 continents. 

More about Delta can be found on Delta News Hub (https://bit.ly/3VIJSU0) as well as https://bit.ly/3VLKF6B , via @DeltaNewsHub on Twitter and Facebook.com/delta.

About Tomorrow Foundation:
Tomorrow Foundation is based in Switzerland and supports African development. It focuses on youth education, skills development and technologies to improve living standards of Africans, boost the economies of African countries and give rise to future business leaders.