Junior Achievement (JA) Ghana, at a launch ceremony in Accra, announced that it will be hosting the 2022 National Business Pitch Competition on September 15-16 at the Academic City University College in Accra.
The National Business Pitch Competition is Ghana’s version of JA Worldwide’s internationally acclaimed Company of the Year Competition. The annual event allows high school students to demonstrate their business acumen and spirit of entrepreneurship in a competitive environment while engaging businesses, education, and policy leaders, as well as the media.
Over 150 students, chaperones, judges, partners, and other stakeholders are expected to attend this year’s event, themed: ‘Fuelling Changemakers’ in a bid to become a catalyst for young people to discover Africa’s greatest challenges, and develop solutions. Students will present innovative business ideas in the areas of Agribusiness, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH), Climate Change & Renewable Energy, and Health Technology.
The competition is the climax for high school students who benefit from the impact of the JA Company Program which is an entrepreneurship education curriculum that teaches students how to start and run their own businesses.
JA is passionate about teaching youth entrepreneurship as an avenue for job creation since the formal sector is unable to accommodate the employment demands of the growing youth population. The Company Program has introduced business management skills to thousands of secondary school students in JA’s 43 years of operations in Africa.
The Ghana competition will bring together students from 16 Senior High Schools across the country: St. Augustines College, Achimota School, Aburi Girls’ SHS, Bolgatanga SHS, St. Francis Girls’ SHS, Peki SHS, Northern Business School – Tamale, Accra Academy, Presbyterian Boys SHS – Legon, Tarkwa SHS, Archbishop Porter Girls’ SHS, Efutu SHS, Ghana SHS – Koforidua, Serwaa Kesse SHS, Adukrom Presbyterian SHS, and Keta SHS.
Over the two-day competition, the competing teams will pitch business solutions to a panel of judges to demonstrate their understanding of business concepts, and explain how and why their businesses performed as they did. Judges will be looking at the current performance and future potential of these businesses, as well as the personal development of the team members. The winners of the competition will take home a GH¢10,000 cash prize and awards from sponsors.
The grand prize winner will have the opportunity to represent Ghana at the 2022 JA Africa Company of the Year Competition which will be held from December 7 to 9 in Lagos, Nigeria where they will compete against students from 12 other African countries for cash prizes, awards, and a ticket to compete on the world stage.
Abeiku Greene, the Executive Director of JA Ghana, said: “Harnessing the potential of Ghana’s youth through entrepreneurship education has immense benefits for the country by creating jobs and promoting economic growth. Having the experience of running their own businesses gives these budding entrepreneurs the confidence to take on the challenges and opportunities that entrepreneurship brings and emancipate them from being job seekers to job creators”.
This year’s competition is being supported by Project Management Institute Educational Foundation, the Tomorrow Foundation, Gold Fields Ghana, Academic City College, Primetime Limited (producers of the National Science and Maths Quiz), and Peter Gbedemah.
JA Ghana is a member of JA Worldwide, one of the world’s largest and most impactful youth-serving NGOs. The charity delivers hands-on immersive learning in work readiness, financial health, entrepreneurship, sustainability, STEM, economics, citizenship, ethics, and more. Each year, JA Ghana engages over 10,000 students across Ghana.
