By Lilian U. Okoro
Twelve scholar firms are competing for high honours at Junior Achievement Nigeria’s (JAN) 2026 National Company of the Year Competition on Wednesday.
Speaking at a digital media convention on Tuesday in Lagos, forward of the occasion, Tobiloba Olaosun, Head of Marketing and Communications, JAN, reaffirmed the organisation’s dedication to youth entrepreneurship and sensible training.
The competitors, with the theme – “Augmenting Innovation,” will showcase enterprise concepts developed by college students by way of the School-to-Work Educational Transition for Long-Term Youth Fulfilment (SET4LYF) programme.
The (*12*)News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) experiences that the successful firm will characterize Nigeria on the African Company of the Year Competition.
“We have seen how entrepreneurship can become a meaningful pathway for young people, including through success stories such as Iyin Aboyeji, a serial entrepreneur and former JAN board member,” Olaosun mentioned.
She known as for extra partnerships to broaden alternatives for younger individuals to develop their entrepreneurial potential and translate revolutionary concepts into viable companies.
Olaosun mentioned the competitors would exhibit how experiential studying might assist younger individuals construct confidence, discover profession alternatives and develop options to real-world challenges.
“The support of our partners, teachers and mentors is essential to ensuring that these young innovators can turn their ideas into sustainable solutions,” she mentioned.
The Acting Executive Director of JAN, Olaolu Akogun, emphasised the significance of serving to younger individuals apply classroom data to real-life conditions by way of sensible studying experiences.
“The competition is designed to move learning beyond the classroom by giving students the opportunity to test their ideas in real-life business situations,” Akogun mentioned.
NAN additionally experiences that the SET4LYF programme equips women with entrepreneurial, problem-solving and work-readiness expertise to help their transition from college into additional training, significant employment and entrepreneurship.
“Through the SET4LYF programme, students are gaining the confidence and skills needed to make informed decisions about their education, careers and future businesses,” Olaosun mentioned.
Through actions together with Ideathon, JA DEEP and the Company Programme, members acquire sensible expertise in enterprise growth, monetary administration, advertising, teamwork and decision-making.
“The practical activities help participants understand that innovation is not only about creating products, but also about solving problems and responding to the needs of their communities,” Akogun mentioned.
“The second and third place winners will receive $150 and $100, respectively, while another $100 prize will recognise outstanding corporate social responsibility among participating companies.”
The organisers famous that Food Concepts, by way of its Chicken Republic model, would additionally recognise the corporate with the most effective advertising and gross sales technique.
Also, the Project Management Institute Nigeria Chapter would award certificates to collaborating scholar firms.
The occasion would additionally recognise academics, mentors, volunteers, implementing companions and different stakeholders supporting college students by way of entrepreneurship training and expertise growth.
The competitors additionally fashioned a part of JAN’s broader efforts to organize younger Nigerians for a altering economic system by way of monetary literacy, digital literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship training.(NAN)www.nannews.ng
Edited by Vivian Ihechu
