Inventive explorers wins JA Nigeria national company competition

For their outstanding innovation and enterprise, Inventive Explorers, a student company from Carol Favored Schools, Ajegunle, Lagos has emerged winner of this year Junior Achievement Nigeria National Company of the Year Award.

The company with presentation on a mobile rechargeable traffic light for road wardens beat eight other regional representatives to represent JA Nigeria at the Africa edition of the competition later this year.

Speaking at the event held at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos, Chairman, JA Nigeria, Olaniyi Yusuf said the idea behind the programme is to encourage students to explore ideas that solve local problems while also schooling them in business.

According to the organisers, the goal of the school-based entrepreneurship education curriculum for senior secondary school students is to create a signature showcase for JAN and the students who benefit from its impact.

At the event, winners from the regional competitions presented the results of their enterprise and learning experiences to a panel of judges who determine company performance against a set of criteria.

Sponsor of the programme First Bank Limited, through their Chief Financial Officer, Patrick Iyamabo said some of the innovations can be scaled up to displace some of their equivalent in the country.

He however identified managerial skill set to run the entities as a challenge they must overcome.

Iyamabo urged young entrepreneurs to appoint only individuals with skill set that can help address managerial gap, open up doors, and improve networking and drive commercialisation.

Also, Global Head, Marketing and Communications, First Bank Limited, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney said: “ We believe that the youth are the future of tomorrow and we identify with the innate talents, skills and values that they possess which is key to building and securing not just their future but that of the nation.”

Speaking on the idea behind their winning product, President of the Inventive Explorers, Anyanwu Emmanuel, said they saw the need for safety in the country and they wanted to eradicate rudimentary forms of traffic control by wardens.

He said unlike the red flags and use of hands by traffic wardens, motorists tends to obwy traffic lights more.