• Winners of the FirstBank Sponsored National Company of the Year (NCOY) Competition Represents Nigeria in the ACOY Competition

FirstBank has partnered with JA Africa on Company of the Year (COY) Competition, Africa’s largest high school entrepreneurship competition scheduled to take place in Lagos, Nigeria from 7th to 9th December under the theme, “Fueling Changemakers.”

The JA Africa Company of the Year (COY) Competition which returns for the 12th year in a row and the first in-person meeting post-COVID, after two successful virtual competitions 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 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.

FirstBank’s sponsored winners of the 2022 Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN) National Company of the Year (NCOY) Competition – Green Apex from the International School, University of Lagos – will represent Nigeria in the JA Africa Company of the Year (COY) Competition.”

“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.”

Also speaking on the forthcoming Africa Company of The Year Competition, Folake Ani-Mumuney, Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, FirstBank said; “the 2022 Junior Achievement Company of The Year competition remains another viable opportunity to promote the entrepreneurship skills, spirit and talent innate in school children, across Africa. We commend Junior Achievement Africa on the COY initiative as it serves as an avenue to expose participants to inter-cultural values and traditions that will foster the unity of the continent.

We wish all participants, particularly the Nigerian representatives – Green Apex from the International School, University of Lagos – the best as learnings from every initiative could solve critical problems facing mankind as we collectively make the world a better place.

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 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 African 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 First Bank of Nigeria Limited; 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: www.ja-africa.org/coy2022

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 FirstBank

First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in West Africa and the leading financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria for over 128 years.

With over 750 business locations and over 189,000 Banking Agents spread across 99% of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, FirstBank provides a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services to serve its over 30 million customers. The Bank has an international presence through its subsidiaries, FBNBank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal, as well as a Representative Office in Beijing.

The Bank has been handy at promoting digital payment in the country and has issued over 10million cards, the first bank to achieve such a milestone in the country. FirstBank’s cashless transaction drive extends to having more than 12million people on its USSD Quick Banking service through the nationally renowned *894# Banking code and over 4.5 million people on FirstMobile platform.

Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk management and leadership. Over the years, the Bank has led the financing of private investment in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the Federal Government’s privatisation and commercialisation schemes. With its global reach, FirstBank provides prospective investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities that are available in Nigeria, an internationally competitive world-class brand and a credible financial partner.

FirstBank has been named “Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria” six times in a row (2011 – 2016) by the globally renowned “The Banker Magazine” of the Financial Times Group; “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” for seven consecutive years (2011 – 2017) by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards and “Best Bank in Nigeria” by Global Finance for 15 years. Our brand purpose is always to put customers, partners and stakeholders at the heart of our business, even as we standardise customer experience and excellence in financial solutions across sub-Saharan Africa, in consonance with our brand vision “To be the partner of the first choice in building your future”. Our brand promise is always to deliver the ultimate “gold standard” of value and excellence.

This commitment is anchored on our inherent values of passion, partnership and people, to position You First in every respect.

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://www.pmi.org/pmi-educational-foundation 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 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 as well as delta.com, 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.