By Morkporkpor Anku, GNA
Accra, Dec. 10, GNA – The Junior Achievement (JA) Africa Company of the Year Competition has ended with 60 high school students from all over Africa participating.
The Company of the Year Competition (COY) enable these students to pitch their business ideas, where they compete to demonstrate their business acumen, creativity and entrepreneurial skills as they present the ideas, products and companies they have created.
Mr Asheesh Advani, the Chief Executive Officer of JA Worldwide, speaking at the event said the students start and run their own businesses throughout the academic year and the winner represents their countries at the regional competition.
He said there is a growing need for young people to develop their entrepreneurial skills across the continent of Africa.
He said focusing on young people to think of themselves as job creators was the goal of the effort.
He said JA Africa has grown from reaching over 200, 000 young people last year to 240, 000 this year across Africa.
He said technology was one of the future job creators and it was for these young people to think about themselves as being able to create technological jobs.
Mr Advani said by 2020 Management of JA Worldwide plans to create a global competition, which they have already spoken to 118 countries.
Mrs Elizabeth Bintiff, the CEO of JA Africa, said by 2015, Africa would be home to 25 per cent of the world’s youth population with two-third of African’s population under 25 year.
She said every year approximately seven to 10 million young people in the region enter into the weak labour market, where high unemployment, low productivity and poverty-level income were commonplace.
“It is for this reason that JA is poised to blend learning in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship to empower young people to secure better lives for themselves, their families and their communities,” she said.
She said JA Africa provides young people with the tools and skills they need to prepare for their professional future either as an entrepreneurs, who creates jobs for themselves and others or employees, who added value to their employers.
Mrs Bintiff said Africa’s youth are key to the continent’s future and JA’s work is critical to equipping them with the relevant tools and resources to secure a better future for them and their communities.
Participating countries are Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mauritius.
GNA
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