Junior Achievement Mini Company Program rewards best entrepreneurial projects

The JA Mini Company Mauritius 2017 Final, sponsored by CIM Finance, rewarded the best entrepreneurial projects done by secondary school students. The grand winner, Azurro Company Ltd set up by students from Ebène SSS, will participate in the regional finale in December.

The judges have deliberated. Azurro Company Ltd, company set up by students from Ebène SSS Girls which produces Wooden Bookmarks, Wooden Case USB and Multi- purpose Jar Holders all made with recycled materials, was announced grand winner of the Junior Achievement Mini Company Mauritius 2017 Final. The award ceremony took place at Voilà Bagatelle on Friday October 6th in the presence of the Acting President of Mauritius, Paramasivum Vyapoory.

For this year’s edition of the program, 14 teams of student entrepreneurs from Grade 12 (Lower Six) from secondary institutions around the island have chosen to develop and focus their businesses and products on four themes, namely use of renewable energy, water conservation, recycling process and tech items. Based on pre-set criteria, five teams have been selected for the JA Mini Company Mauritius Competition final, namely Talent Eco by students from Loreto College Rose Hill, Entorno Ltd by an out of school team, Aquayom Aquaponics from John Kennedy College, Azurro Company Ltd by Ebène SSS Girls and Limiere Ecolozik Moris (LEM) Company Ltd by students from Dr Maurice Curé College.

On Friday, four members of the five selected teams represented their JA Company in the final, which consisted of five minutes Power Point Presentations followed by Questions and Answers by the Judging Panel. Despite the stress level, all teams demonstrated great communication skills but most importantly, entrepreneurial skills showcasing their innovative and creative talents. In her speech Michele Lionnet, Executive Director of the Junior Achievement Mascareignes, underlined that the competition has allowed all participants and also winners to gain invaluable experience and skills which will prove useful as lifelong acquisitions.

“Every year at JA Mascareignes, we are pleasantly surprised by the increasing quality and high standard of the projects and very satisfied of the growing interest of students in participating in JA Mini Company Competition. At JA, we are convinced that education needs to prepare our youth to be responsible, creative, innovative and adaptable citizens so they may adjust to the needs of the market, this both locally and internationally,” she stated.

As for the Acting President of Mauritius, Paramasivum Vyapoory highlighted the importance of strengthening and empowering the youth through education and training. “The greatest strength of a nation is its youth. Through the hands-on learning, which is at the basis of the JA Mini Company Program, the youth gained work readiness skills which include soft skills and behavioural skills such as adaptability, team work and oral and written communication.” In fact the JA Mini Company aims at enabling those students to learn about entrepreneurship through the setting up, running and liquidation of a business.

Other prestigious awards were also given to all participating teams in a bid to recognize their tremendous work. The Green Hoover Ltd, set up by students from John Kennedy College, bagged the Innovation and Creativity Award. The company focused on offering an ecological alternative to the electrical hoover. The vacuum is made from recycled material such as plastic bottles and pipes and is powered through a USB cable.

The Entrepreneurial Award was given to the Talent Eco Ltd set by students of Loreto College Rose Hill. Talent Eco Ltd came up with three creative products that are 100% environment friendly and that help in the growth of plants. The team manufactures flower jars made of glass bottles, flower port made of scrapped recycled wood and compost bin which is made from recycled bucket and recycled wood for the stand.

The Runner Up of the Junior Achievement Mini Company Mauritius 2017 Final was given to the Aquayom Aquaponics business company headed by students from John Kennedy College. Aquaponics is the combination of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (the soil-less growing of plants) that breeds fish and plants together in one integrated system. The fish waste provides an organic food source for the plants and the plants naturally filter the water for the fish.

The winning team, Azurro Company Ltd, will represent Mauritius at the 2017 JA Africa Regional Company of the Year Competition, which will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from the 6th to the 8th December.