Junior Achievement Nigeria has partnered with FirstBank Nigeria to implement the 22nd National Company of the Year (NCOY) Competition on October 13th, 2022 and crown its winners.

The 22nd National Company of the Year (NCOY) competition which is the capstone project for the Junior Achievement Company Program, gathered 12 winning student companies from the Regional Company of the Year competitions to contest for the National Company of the Year award sponsored by FirstBank Nigeria, and also compete for the single slot to represent Nigeria at the Junior Achievement Africa’s Company of the Year (ACOY) competition.

The overall winner of the competition is the Green Apex student company from the International School, University of Lagos, they produced a biodegradable sanitary pad for women. Other winners are: 

•  1st runner up – Nexus Queen’s Creation student company from Queen’s School, Ibadan, developed a decorative led lamp structured with 80% carton.
• 2nd runner up – KRi8 student company from Top Faith International Secondary School, Akwa-Ibom, developed a vacuum cleaner.
• CEO of the Year – The straw recyclers student company from Special Education School, Tudun Maliki (School for the blind and deaf). They used abandoned straws and takeaway plastic spoons from the garbage. They recycled them into home accessories such as bags, doormats, home decorations, tissue paper containers, coin purses, and more.
• Most Innovative – Champion Squad student company of Taidob College, Asero, Ogun state. They produced wearable totes from a revamping process of used clothes with creative and fashionable local adire.

In her remarks, the Executive Director, Junior Achievement Nigeria, Foluso Gbadamosi, stated: “Our mission towards inspiring and transforming young people with the skill sets and mindsets needed to help them thrive in a global economy has been both challenging and exhilarating. We are extremely grateful to everyone who has made today possible. We are proud of these young leaders and their growing capacity for innovation which we believe will take Nigeria to the next level.”

The Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Folake Ani-Mumuney, said:

“We commend Junior Achievement Nigeria for organizing the 22nd edition of the National Company of the Year Competition, a competition that has been impactful in promoting the entrepreneurship skills, spirit and talent innate in school children, whom are unarguably the leaders of tomorrow.

Our sponsorship of the National Company of the Year competition aligns with our FutureFirst initiative driven to promote financial literacy, entrepreneurship and innovative development and career counseling of school children at an early age. We are excited to be part of the entrepreneurship journey of all representatives of the participating teams and we wish everyone the best”, she concluded.

In attendance were the Honorable Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo represented by; Tutor General/Permanent Secretary, Education District II, Lagos State, Dr. Idowu Olufunke Oyetola; Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, FirstBank, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney represented by Head of Digital, FirstBank, Chinwe Bode-Akinwande; Chief Brand and Marketing Officer, Union Bank, Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem and Executive Director, Junior Achievement Nigeria, Mrs. Foluso Gbadamosi.

The judges for this year’s competition were: Osayi Alile – CEO, Aspire Coronation Trust(ACT) Foundation; Molade Adeniyi -CEO, Wave; Uchenna Achunine, Director, Business Development and Communications, Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF); Nneka Itabor – Head, Transaction Banking Sales, FirstBank; Afolake Oredola, Business Manager, Commercial Banking, FirstBank; David Adegboyega – Sound Character Coach & Nation Builder; Femi Iromini – Co-founder/CEO Moni Africa.

The Junior Achievement Company Program aims to inspire senior secondary school students to start and run their businesses, develop a product or service, and market their brand. With the support of seasoned volunteers, students come together to form a company, choose a business name and elect company officers to oversee company operations for the program duration. These activities help them hone in-demand skills like creativity, accountability, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, critical thinking, and public speaking to succeed in this competition and thrive globally.