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December 2019 Ghana
Tomorrow Foundation was very excited to take part to the “JA Africa Company of the Year” final held in Ghana from December 4th to 6th , 2019 as one of the main sponsor of the event and as member of the jury.
The event celebrated youth achievement in entrepreneurship and brought together young people from different African countries who have completed training in Junior Achievement (JA) Africa’s Company Program to compete as entrepreneurs. „Activating Disruptors“, the theme of this year, referred to the fact that many successful companies are not the ones which initially innovated, but the ones which imitated and improved technically or commercially an existing idea. In addition to the Final Award, teams were also competing for the Tomorrow Foundation Future Tech/Innovation branded award rewarding the company that best illustrates new, original and groundbreaking ideas.
This year the members of the jury had the difficult task to select the winners among 11 teams from 11 countries based on company reports, stage presentations, trade fair products presentation and interviews. After two days of competition and intense deliberations, the final award of the Africa COY 2019 has been granted to Relo-Pave Investments from Botswana, a company that used a new technique to develop waterless paving bricks made from sand, cement and clay. Taking into account the water shortage in the country, the bricks are as resistant as standard ones, much cheaper and with different shapes and colors. Leveraging on an initiative from the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre to promote local products, the product is already a great success, displayed in Botswana Embassies and High Commissions and in other countries such as Zambia and Namibia.
The second price was awarded to Edu-Buddies from Eswatini for their platform that gives parents access to their children’s academic results, leveraging on USSD technology. The third prize was granted to T.C. Achievers from Nigeria, a company which produces gas leakage detectors.
Finally, the Tomorrow Foundation Future Tech/Innovation award was also given to Edu-Buddies as their product was completely new on the market, already operational and successful commercially. Furthermore, the team had a real long term vision and showed an impressive business commitment as illustrated by the fact that they learned coding on their own during several years using mainly resources available on the net and in books. During the award ceremony, the Foundation announced that a specific donation of 1000 USD will also be granted to support the team.
Tomorrow Foundation was honored to participate to the Competition and admired the positive energy, creativity, and motivation displayed by the African youth during those days. We will pursue our supportive actions for entrepreneurship in Africa as we believe successful entrepreneurs will be the real leaders able to change the social, political and economic trends of the continent for a better development.
Junior Achievement has been founded in 1919 in the United States and is one of the world’s largest organizations dedicated to inspiring young people and equipping them with the skills they need to succeed in a global economy. The organization operates in more than 120 countries. JA Africa regroups 15 member countries, provide activities in 1 669 schools through its staff, mentors and educators to develop meaningful student experiences and develop skills.
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