First Bank of Nigeria Limited has awarded its prestigious CEO Award to Team Mauritius at the grand finale of the 15th Junior Achievement Africa Company of the Year competition, which was held in Abuja over the weekend.
The three-day event took place from December 3 to 5, 2025, and brought together young student entrepreneurs from eight African countries, namely Eswatini, Ghana, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia. The competition was organised by JA Africa under the theme “Action for Climate Transformation”, with a strong focus on climate-smart business ideas and sustainable innovation.
The annual competition serves as a platform for secondary school students across Africa to showcase business ideas, compete for continental recognition, and access opportunities such as funding, scholarships, mentorship, and long-term venture support. It also prepares participants to represent Africa at the global finals of the programme.
According to a statement released on Sunday, Team Mauritius distinguished itself during the competition based on five key judging pillars. These included the strength of the business idea, financial management and sustainability, leadership and teamwork, stage pitch presentation, and performance at the trade fair exhibition.
Their student-led company, Plantura, impressed the judges and First Bank of Nigeria Limited with its “plant and air-based purifier”, a climate-smart solution designed to improve air quality using natural and sustainable methods. The innovation was developed by four students who were described by the bank as smart, agile, and highly innovative.
In its official announcement, FirstBank stated that the judges unanimously agreed to present the FirstBank CEO Entrepreneurship Award to Team Mauritius in recognition of their creativity, clarity of business model, and strong environmental impact strategy.
The President and Chief Executive Officer of JA Africa, Simi Nwogugu, commended FirstBank for its consistent support of youth development and entrepreneurship education across Africa. She explained that the bank’s involvement has strengthened financial literacy and enterprise training programmes in many countries.
“FirstBank has been an incredible supporter. Usually, our headline sponsors are global organisations, so having FirstBank step up in that role was very exciting. We hope to deepen the partnership further, not only through funding but also through FirstBank employees volunteering in classrooms,” she said.
Nwogugu also raised concerns about Africa’s growing unemployment challenge. She revealed that about 11 million young Africans enter the labour market every year, while only about 3 million jobs are created annually. According to her, this gap means millions of young people are left without decent employment opportunities, creating risks of rising poverty and crime if urgent action is not taken.
She stressed that the solution lies in building a generation of job creators rather than job seekers. She said entrepreneurship education, when introduced early, helps young people develop ethics, integrity, critical thinking, and strong problem-solving skills.
“When young people see problems, their first reaction should be to think of solutions,” Nwogugu added. She also noted that the future of work is deeply rooted in digital technology, which is why JA Africa continues to invest in digital skills training for African youths. The organisation currently reaches about 1.5 million young people and plans to double that number by 2028, with a long-term target of reaching 5 million youths by 2030.
Also speaking at the event, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Junior Achievement Worldwide, Asheesh Advani, called on more Nigerian companies and institutions to follow the example set by FirstBank in supporting youth entrepreneurship and innovation.
He described FirstBank as a strong model of corporate leadership in youth development and urged other organisations in Nigeria to invest more in building the next generation of entrepreneurs.
The CEO Award was formally presented to Team Mauritius by Dr Tobechi Enyioko and Nidi Sohotyep on behalf of First Bank of Nigeria Limited. The presentation marked a key highlight of the event and underlined the growing role of Nigerian financial institutions in promoting youth innovation, climate-smart solutions, and sustainable enterprise development across Africa.
The organisers described the competition as a major step towards empowering young Africans with the skills, mindset, and confidence needed to build businesses that solve real-world problems and contribute to inclusive economic growth.
