First Bank has partnered with JA Africa to organise the Company of the Year competition, Africa’s high school entrepreneurship competition, according to Punch.
A statement from the bank said the theme of the event which took take place in Lagos was ‘Fuelling Changemakers’.
It said the JA Africa Company of the Year competition which returned for the 12th year in a row, and the first in-person meeting post COVID-19, after two successful virtual competitions was JA Africa’s annual celebration of winning teams from the JA Company Programme.
In a statement, it said it was a programme which equipped 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.
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The statement said, “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 programme 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.”