Junior Achievement student company competition opens in Accra

The Junior Achievement (JA) Student Company of the Year competition 2011 for secondary schools in the African Region is underway in Accra.

The competition is a contest of business skills, ingenuity and innovation that focuses on the accomplishment of Africa JA Company programme for students between 15 -19 years.

Currently impacting more than 360,000 young people globally, the students are made to start and run their own business, develope and market their products and services with the help of a local business volunteer.

Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, the Minister of Education who represented Vice President John Dramani Mahama at the opening session  commended, the organisers for their increase contribution to the entrepreneurial skill of the youth in Ghana and the rest of the continent.

About 23 student companies from 14 countries are participating in this year’s competition including Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda, Togo, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Tanzania, Mauritius, Namibia, Burkina Faso and the Gambia.

She said governments needed to give hope to their youth because they are the future leaders of the continent.

Mrs Mould-Iddrissu said training and skill development provided to these young ones needed to be effective to their growth and development to better equip them for the challenges ahead.

She called on corporate institutions to partner the government to support the youth for national development.

Mrs Mould-Iddrisu expressed hope that the students would use the opportunity afforded them to bring out the potential, creativity and innovation in them.

Mr Sean Rush, President and Chief Executive Officer of JA Worldwide, said: “The competition is an exciting opportunity for Junior Achievement students to demonstrate the teamwork, leadership and innovative thinking that will help them drive success in the business world.”

He said through the competition the organisers were enhancing the relevancy of education and igniting the spark in young people to experience and realise their opportunities and realities of work in a 21st Century global marketplace.

Mr Charles Mensa, Board Chairman of Barclays Bank Ghana Limited, said the bank’s association with JA was to support,  nurture and train young people in entrepreneurship and introduce them to the financial world at a youthful stage.

He said the bank would continue to create the platform for the youth to unearth their full potentials, urging other institutions to keep investing in the youth to prepare them for the task ahead.

Mr Mensah called on the participants to strive for excellence in the competition.

The four-day competition which started on Tuesday, October 18 is expected to end today Friday, October 21, with a Gala Awards Dinner for the winners.

Source: GNA