Zimbabwe’s Hekima Inc has been crowned the overall winner of the Junior Achievement Africa’s Company of the Year Awards.
The team was crowned at a Gala and Awards night held at Eko Hotel & Suites on Friday, September 9 to commemorate the 12th edition of the initiative. The event with the theme, “Fueling Changemakers”, marks JA Africa’s return to in-person competitions after two successful virtual events.
The overall winner of the competition, Hekima Inc, comprised students from the Maranatha Christian School. The team developed a Study Buddie application to make education accessible for Zimbabweans and the world as a whole.
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 programme 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.
The JA Africa Company of the Year (COY) Competition is Africa’s premier pitch competition for high-school youths who have completed the flagship JA Company Programme in their respective countries. These youths compete in teams to demonstrate resilience and innovation in dealing with global challenges and develop businesses that generate wealth.
After competing against thousands of youth start-ups to qualify for the regional competition, the three-day event brought together winners from countries across Africa including Seksolin JA Company – Ghana; Aquatech Enterprise – Kenya; Green Apex– Nigeria; Aqua Pure Company – South Africa; Kibega Company – Tanzania; City Mult-Tech Stars – Uganda; Moxes Sanitary Sports Ent. – Zambia; Hekima Inc – Zimbabwe; and Time Out Company – Eswatini.
Commenting on the Awards, Simi Nwogwugwu, the Chief Executive Officer, JA Africa said, “I am extremely proud of all our winners tonight. Our aim for the students is to keep them focused on their journey to becoming changemakers. The world needs more of them. And we on our part will continue focusing on equipping them with an entrepreneurial mindset to become solution providers in their communities.”
In third place, Team Eswatini went with certificates and a $500 prize. Bagging their fourth award for the night, Team Green Apex Nigeria came in at second place winning trophies, certificates and an $800 prize. For emerging overall winner, JA Africa’s Company of the Year 2022, Zimbabwe’s Hekima Inc went home with trophies, certificates, a grand prize of $1000, and a chance to compete with winners from other regions for the Ralph de la Vega Global Entrepreneurship Competition.
According to Nwogwugwu, winners from the six regions where JA Worldwide operates will compete for awards, a $15,000 grand prize and educational opportunities among others.
Winners across other categories include; FedEx Global Possibilities Award — Green Apex (Nigeria) —Citi Foundation Client Focus Award —Timeout (Eswatini), Project Management Award Hekima Inc. (Zimbabwe), Johnson & Johnson Innovation Award —Green Apex (Nigeria), Delta Social Impact Award — City Mult-Tech Stars (Uganda), Bloomberg Changemaker Award — Kibega (Tanzania), FirstBank Future First Award for Finance —Green Apex (Nigeria), Rise Award — Hekima Inc. (Zimbabwe), Nascon Allied Industries Entrepreneurial Excellence Award —Aquatech (Kenya), and the Public Choice Award —Green Apex (Nigeria).
To climax the event of the night, three teams won the De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award. The award which recognises outstanding JA entrepreneurs came with a cash prize. In third place, Team Eswatini went home with certificates and a $500 prize, bagging their fourth award for the night, Team Green Apex Nigeria came in at second place winning trophies, certificates, and an $800 prize; while emerging overall winner and JA Africa’s Company of the Year 2022, Zimbabwe’s Hekima Inc went home with trophies, certificates, the grand prize of $1000, and a chance to compete with winners from other regions at the global space.
Rwanda was unveiled as the host of the 2023 Junior Achievement Awards with the theme, “Breaking Barriers.” Also, some Chaperones, facilitators, and sponsors were rewarded at the well-attended event.