Nigeria and seven other African countries have converged in Abuja for the 15th edition of the Junior Achievement Africa Company of the Year (COY) competition, the continent’s biggest student enterprise prize. The event, which runs from 3 to 5 December 2025, brings together the top student-run companies from Eswatini, Ghana, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia.
The students are competing for a chance to represent Africa at the global finals and win cash prizes, scholarships and long-term support to grow their businesses. This year’s theme, Action for Climate Transformation, focuses on how young people can build climate-smart solutions across technology, renewable energy, the circular economy, financial technology and digital media.
Junior Achievement Africa’s President and CEO, Simi Nwogugu, said the competition has become a launchpad for young innovators who are already creating real businesses from problems in their communities. Speaking to journalists after a pre-event briefing in Abuja, she said young Africans understand the issues affecting the continent and are capable of designing practical solutions once given the needed support.
She explained that Junior Achievement Africa operates in 23 countries and reaches more than 1.5 million young people every year with entrepreneurship-focused programmes. According to her, the organisation exposes students to entrepreneurial thinking early by bringing training directly into secondary schools.
“What we do is go into secondary schools and start putting that mindset in them that nobody is coming to save you,” she said. “How can you come up with the solutions?”
Nwogugu cited examples of past students who tackled plastic pollution by converting waste plastics into construction materials, reducing building costs while running viable enterprises. She added that JA’s impact is now evident across government, business and technology sectors. Alumni such as Andela and Flutterwave co-founder Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, are among those who benefited from early exposure to entrepreneurship.
She noted that the organisation has reached more than five million young people since it began counting and estimates the total to be around 10 million today.
This year’s contest will produce Africa’s representative for the Ralph de la Vega Global Entrepreneurship Competition. Winners will receive $3,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place, and $1,000 for third place. The global prize stands at $15,000.
Nwogugu stressed that the value of the competition goes beyond prize money, as participants also receive scholarships, business support and access to a global alumni network. She added that JA boards across Africa have collectively mobilised about $1 billion within the past four years to strengthen youth entrepreneurship initiatives.
She also highlighted the importance of working with ministries of education, youth and women’s affairs to scale entrepreneurship programmes, especially in public schools.
“Most of our schools are public schools because we believe these are the young people who need this education,” she said.
Nwogugu added that the competition is designed to place youth entrepreneurship at the centre of Africa’s climate and development agenda. She noted that Africa’s “greatest resource is the brilliance and creativity” of its young population.
“Climate action is not just an environmental issue; it’s a development imperative,” she said. “When youth are empowered to lead, they don’t just adapt to the future, they create it.”
JA Worldwide President and CEO, Asheesh Advani, described the African contest as a space where “confidence and innovation intersect,” noting that students consistently present exceptional ideas every year.
Headline sponsors FedEx and the PMIEF also expressed high expectations for the finalists. FedEx Regional Sales Manager, Ruth Kabogo, said creating great products is only the first step, adding that true impact comes from scaling. Deji Ishmael, a board member of the PMI Nigeria Chapter, said project management helps young people develop the discipline required to solve problems – a value at the core of PMIEF’s support.
The competition will wrap up on 5 December with the JA Africa Stakeholder Convening, where ministers, policymakers, business leaders and civil society organisations will discuss ways to embed entrepreneurship education into national systems and broaden opportunities for young people across the continent.
