COYC 2019

COYC 2019- Lille France  

In Lille, 200+ young entrepreneurs having participated in a year-long JA Company Programme and qualifying at a national-level, competed for the title of JA Europe Company of the Year 2019. 

They’ll The teams approach to communication, teamwork, problem-solving, objective-setting, planning and review, administration and financial systems, personnel management, product development, customer focus, marketing and sales, as well as financial results was evaluated by a high-level panel of 10 judges. 

Having participated in the year-long JA Company Programme and qualifying at a national-level, more than 200 students from 40 national teams across Europe competed for the coveted title of JA Europe Company of the Year 2019. The evaluation of the companies was based on the evidence of innovation and the successful exploitation of new ideas in all aspects of running a company. 

The mini-company Entella Company from Turkey won JA Europe Company of the Year 2019, hosted this year by JA France Entreprendre Pour Apprendre, in Lille. The  Company of the Year Competition is the flagship event of JA Europe that empowers students aged 15-18 to run a mini-company from top to bottom. It fosters their entrepreneurial skills, giving them the opportunity to design a business concept and apply it in real life. 

Entella Company created Mareen, a cylindrical filter that aids in waste capture and removal in the ocean and other bodies of water. The team thoroughly met these criteria and impressed the jury chaired this year by Maxime Holder, President of PAUL International. 

We know it takes a team to build a dream. Entella Company demonstrated a great team spirit. At the same time, they were able to face the failure together and I believe that being an entrepreneur means that very often the success won’t be there at the first stage of your life.” said Maxime Holder, President of PAUL International. 

On receiving the award, member of the winning team said: “We are honored to win this award which is a recognition of all our hard work. It demonstrates that it’s not about your origin or your country, or whatever you’re doing, it’s about passion. I would like to thanks the jury, our teacher, Junior Achievement Turkey and my team. “ 

The JA Company programme is an entrepreneurship education programme that bridges the gap between classrooms and workplaces. As such, teachers and business volunteers play a key role in the delivery of the programme. JA provides teachers with a series of learning-by-doing business, economics and entrepreneurship activities, while business volunteers visit the classrooms to share their experience and mentor students on career opportunities, entrepreneurship and the necessary skills required to match their ambitions. 

Alongside showcasing the best European mini-companies, JA Europe and its national affiliates have celebrated the 100th anniversary of JA and the 30 years of the JA Europe Company of the Year Competition. 

As we celebrate JA’s first 100 years, the JA Company Program continues to deliver its positive impact on young people’s self-efficacy and entrepreneurial potential. The role of business volunteers is crucial and we are thankful to all our partners and sponsors who are making adventures such as the JA Europe Company of the Year Competition possible,” said Caroline Jenner, CEO of JA Europe. 

Besides the JA Europe Company of the Year Award, the young entrepreneurs also competed for several signature awards, supported by AT&T, BNP Paribas, Citi Foundation, Delta, FedEx, ManpowerGroup and MetLife Foundation. The evaluation criteria for winning these signature awards included different business aspects such as innovation, sustainability and client focus. 

Jury members: 

Maxime Holder (Chair Judge), President of PAUL International, France 

Luiza Buzea, Head of Investment & GM Deputy, Metropolitan Life, Romania 

Tatiana Lebedeva, Industry & Government Relations Manager, Boeing-Russia/CIS at Boeing – Russia 

Juan Bossicard, Corporate Citizenship Manager Avanade Inc., Belgium 

Kristina Pavleska, Assistant to the Governor on Financial Education and Financial Education Unit Coordinator in the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia 

Riley Doyle Evans, Cross-KIC Education Project Manager, EIT RawMaterials, Germany 

Dalibor Slávik, Executive Search Senior Consultant, Managing Partner & Senior Human Capital Consultant, SLAVIK & STELL – Executive Search & Advisory – Slovakia 

Joni Tikkanen, CMO, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company 

Dr. Rosen Dimitrov, Public Affairs Manager, Novartis Bulgaria 

Anca Fanea, Senior Client Asset Protection Compliance Officer at BNY Mellon SA, Belgium 

Award Criteria: 

Innovation, Value Creation and Entrepreneurship 

Product/Service Development and Customer Focus 

Financial Performance 

Objective Setting, Planning/Review, and Company Administration 

Ability to Demonstrate Achievements in Learning 

JA Europe Company of the Year Award 

Winner:  

Entella Company, Turkey 

2nd place: 

Brand, Estonia 

3rd place: 

Farm Animal Trade, Italy 

Signature Awards 

AT&T Excellence in IT Award 

AT&T Excellence in IT Award recognizes the student-company that demonstrates the best innovation-driven concept, with strong business potential and sustainability, as well as viability and scalability. 

Winner: SAVeat from Greece 

BNP Paribas Social Entrepreneurship Award 

The BNP PARIBAS Social Entrepreneurship Award is awarded to the student company that demonstrates a passion to change social patterns to make them more inclusive and environmental friendly by introducing new products/services or technologies, or by having a different approach than the traditional one. 

Winner: Meehr from Germany 

Citi Foundation Client Focus Award 

The Citi Foundation Client Focus Award recognizes student enterprises that excel at creating value for their clients, listening to their clients and walking in their shoes to understand their world, anticipating and serving their changing needs. 

Winner: Hush-Hush Underwear from Denmark 

DELTA Innovation Award 

Delta’s Innovation Award is given to the student company which: has an innovative or effective approach for solving a problem or developing further a product, their idea has a potential to prosper and has an international prospect; their idea is easy to implement and has a functional business model. 

Winner: Water Safe from Spain 

FedEx Access Award 

FedEx believes entrepreneurs help build connections that can power the world. Because the company also believe a more connected world is a better world, they proudly support global entrepreneurship education. 

The FedEx Access Award recognizes student-run businesses that best exhibit the principles of global connectivity. 

Winner:  Entella Company from Turkey 

ManpowerGroup “Ready for Work” Award 

The ManpowerGroup “Ready for Work” Award recognizes those teams that have best built work readiness skills during the competition. In 2019, ManpowerGroup will be presenting the award for the project that makes most significant impact on developing learnability, a key component of work readiness. 

Winner: Raw Straw from Sweden 

MetLife LifeChanger Award 

The MetLife LifeChanger Award aims to award student companies which best embraces the concepts social impact, financial performance and innovation in their business strategy while remaining a realistic plan in today’s marketplace. 

Winner: CarBIOrante from France 

Alumni Leadership Award 

•    Ioanna Chrysovitsioti (Cyprus) 

•    Anna Jędrzejewska (Poland) 

•    Stylianos Boulitsakis – Logothetis (Greece) 

•    Mathieu Gonzalez (France) 

•    Jakob Otilius Flovikholm (Norway) 

•    Anna Bech (Denmark) 

•    Gerda Prakopimaite (Lithuania) 

•    Popa Cristiana (Romania) 

•    Samuel Šlesar (Slovakia) 

•    Kitija Korosevska (Latvia) 

This Summer competition will be combined with the worldwide centennial celebration of the JA Company Programme  and the 2nd European Entrepreneurship Education Summit. 

European Entrepreneurship Education Summit 

The 2nd European Entrepreneurship Education Summit will be organised in Lille, France on 4-5 July 2019, under the High Patronage of Mr. Emmanuel MACRON, President of the French Republic. The Summit will gather experts in entrepreneurship education, EU and national policy-makers, government officials, educators, business and NGO representatives. The goal of the EE-HUB is that every young person should have at least one practical entrepreneurial experience before they leave school. The Entrepreneurship Education Summit takes place in a timely context looking ahead to the next 5 years, with the European Parliament elections and the renewal of the European Commission, in addition to many national elections in different European countries. It is the right time to stress the need to increase the quantity, quality and impact of entrepreneurship education in Europe in the coming years. 

Junior Achievement Macedonia in lille  

„Medteh“- the student company from “Gjosho Vikentiev” high school in Kocani, represented JAM during the 30th JA Europe Company of the year competition in Lille France.  

Ivan Danilov 

Dushko Manev 

Fidan Stoimenov 

Nikola Andov 

Teacher (student’s mentor): Igor Mitev 

 “Medteh”, offered a product called Smart Pills Box with an investment of only 349 MKD. A box contains 7 compartments for each day of the week for on-time consumption of specific medicament at the exact hour of the day. Additional sub-compartments can be installed, according to the needs by the user, prescriptions. The product is offered in 3 editions and isn’t just some pill box, but a Smart Pill Box, able to solve the problem of forgetting to take the medicine in the appropriate time.