Swaziland teen entrepreneurs wins Company of the Year Competition

ACCRA- Eco Eagles, a team of teen entrepreneurs from Swaziland, has won the Company of the Year Competition, organised by youth charity Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide and sponsored by Barclays.

The award ceremony took place last Friday in Accra, Ghana, after 22 student teams from 15 sub-Saharan countries demonstrated their business skills by pitching the companies they have created over the past academic year to judges comprising prominent global business leaders.

Eco Eagles, a company which produced quality organic broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce using its own modern and innovative scientific methods, won the Africa JA Company of the Year title. The students reduced costs by taking advantage of waste material available locally to replace soil as a growing medium. It also considered environmental concerns in avoiding the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides.

Eco Eagles also won the FedEx Access Award, presented to the company with the best business plan designed to grow the business, create jobs and improve the environment.

In addition to the Africa JA Company of the Year title, participants completed for the Barclays Innovation Award, which rewards the student company with the best new business idea.

The Barclays innovation Award was presented to D Smart from Kenya, which produced a hot water iron box – a non-electrical iron that is economical and environmentally-friendly. The product incorporates various principles of physics to ensure smooth ironing.

Rachael Barber, Director, Global Community Investment at Barclays, said: “It was a tough decision as a huge range of creative ideas were proposed. The winning team combined science with a deep understanding of a specific community need, translating it into a real market opportunity. D Smart demonstrated the skills needed to become successful entrepreneurs. They are an example to others and I am sure have bright futures ahead of them.”

The JA Company of the Year competition offers students an opportunity to demonstrate their business skills, ingenuity and capacity for innovation by developing and marketing a product or service to realise a profit.

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