COYC 2020

As the Covid-19 pandemic is still ravaging the world, and as our economies are increasingly feeling its impact on their labour market and businesses, JA student entrepreneurs aged 15-21 showcased their business ideas at this year’s virtual Company of the Year Competition European. The resilience and innovation of these young entrepreneurs, and the 355,000 young people who created over 30,000 mini-companies across 40 countries in Europe, is truly amazing considering the context of school closures and strict lockdown measures during the past school year.
The changed methodology of this year’s competition created an opportunity for organizing webinars with well-established European and national companies companies such as: At&T, Citi Foundation, FedEx, Manpower Group, Fundação Ageas, EDP, Sonae, called On the road to JA Company of the year competition. The webinars touched on topics such as working through crisis, How the SDGs can help developing your business, how to do a pitch, How to be self-conscious, organized and focused etc.

(if you want to listen to some of the webinars you can do that here- https://www.jacompanyoftheyear.org/webinars/ )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RghyiyATO9M – stream
Main Awards
JA Europe Company of the Year 2020
The Company of the Year Award recognises the mini-companies that succeeded in demonstrating the outcomes of the JA Company Programme. The main jury assessment is based on a list of criteria that require the students to demonstrate or explain their achievements in learning and their acquired individual and group development. The three best mini-companies are awarded 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the competition.
Winner: Bubbles, Denmark
The winning company of this year’s competition, “Bubbles” from Denmark, supports children with learning difficulties by providing a technology to improve communication between educators and
ADHD-students, demonstrating the importance of leveraging technology while addressing a real-life social problem.
2nd place: SIGMA, Israel3rd place: Tensopathy, Turkey
Public Choice Award
The Public Choice Award seeks to make students learn how to market their product or service in order to gain votes. All mini-companies competing in the JA Europe Company of the Year Competition had a profile on the event website with a “vote” button, and the mini-company collecting the highest number of votes wins the Public Choice Award.
Winner: Kaliopa, Bulgaria2nd place: SIGMA, Israel3rd place: Sixth Sense, Serbia
JA Alumni Leadership Award
The Alumni Leadership Award is given to outstanding individuals showing that extra initiative and leadership during the programme, which only 10 students receive at the JA Europe Company of the Year Competition. The holder of this award certificate is recognised as a JA Alumni Leader, standing out as an individual showing role model behaviour, possessing leadership skills, team solidarity and real JA Alumni spirit.
Winners:
Alex Blandon, Slovakia
Jonty Bregazzi, Isle of Man
Tayla Evans, United Kingdom
Loran Geskens, Belgium
Lara İçli, Turkey
Luna Jonker, Malta
Sara Meister, Switzerland
Agné Marija Mokrikaité, Lithuania
Clémence Tirot, France
Viktoria Trifonova, Bulgaria
European Signature Awards
AT&T Excellence in IT Award
The AT&T Excellence in IT Award recognises the efforts of the student company that demonstrates the best innovation-driven concept, with strong business potential and sustainability, as well as viability and scalability.
Winner: Bubbles, Denmark
Citi Foundation Client Focus Award
The Citi Foundation Client Focus Award recognises student enterprises that place the client at the heart of their business.
Winner: Helmet Vision, Georgia
Delta Air Lines Innovation Award
The Delta Air Lines Innovation Award is given to the student company which has an innovative or effective approach for solving a problem or developing further a product, a functional business model and whose idea has a potential to prosper, an international prospect and is easy to implement.
Winner: Ecowave, Greece
FedEx Access Award
The FedEx Access Award puts the principles of global connectivity at the forefront of young people’s minds – to inspire tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and leaders with the scale of what is possible.
Winner: Echooo, Belgium (LJE)
ManpowerGroup ‘Ready for Work’ Award
The ManpowerGroup ‘Ready for Work’ Award recognizes those teams that have best built work readiness skills and learnability during the competition.
Winner: Echooo, Belgium (LJE)
National Signature AwardsFundação Ageas Social Innovation Award
Fundação Ageas gives its Social Innovation Award to the mini-company that best addresses societal challenges while having a realistic plan for today’s market.
Winner: Tensopathy, Turkey
EDP Green Entrepreneurship Award
The EDP Green Entrepreneurship Award goes to the mini-company that embodies the principles and spirit of green entrepreneurship to the highest extent.
Winner: REN, Slovakia
SONAE Social Entrepreneurship Award
Sonae gives the Social Entrepreneurship Award to the mini-company which best demonstrates a passion to change social patterns to make them more inclusive and environmentally friendly by introducing new products / services or technologies, or by having a different approach than the traditional one.
Winner: Sigma, Israel For more information visit: https://www.jacompanyoftheyear.org/
JAM during the 31st JA Europe company of the year competition

JA Macedonia participated with the student company „Soundsy“ from the high school “Georgi Dimitrov” from Skopje. The students from the III grade: Amelija Ebip, Filip Petkovski, Andrej Trajkovski, Damjan Stojanovski, (supported by their teacher Oliver Stojanovski), presented their company in front of the jury members with their product on an interview panel session. The Soundsy’s business concept is production and sale of acoustic products (speakers) made from wood waste materials from furniture production workshops. The speakers operate without an external power source by simply placing the phone in a slot, where the sound from the phone is guided to one direction and thus increasing the volume. Soundy’s mission is to be an example of using renewable resources while respecting the standards of expertise, professionalism and market ethics, creating products for those who want to spend time in nature.