Winners of the 2019 National Company of the Year Competition (NCOY), Taidob College Abeokuta, which was organized by Junior Achievement Nigeria and sponsored by First Bank of Nigeria Limited, carted home four awards at the 2019 African Company of the Year competition, which took place in Ghana.
Taidob College won the awards in the keenly contested competition, comprising representatives from 10 other Junior Achievement member countries in Africa, notably from the Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland), Ghana, Zambia, Gabon, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Botswana, Kenya and South Africa. Team Nigeria (represented by Taidob College) won the most awards of any other country present. The awards include; Client Focus Award, Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, Facilitator of the Year Award and was the second runner up, Company of the Year Award.
The African stage of the Company of the Year competition is the sequel to the national event featuring 12 student companies who are zonal winners from across the country, including the eventual winner Taidob College Abeokuta. Terra Kulture, Lagos played host to the event on 3 October 2019.
Speaking on their performance, Folake Ani-Mumuney, Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, First Bank of Nigeria Limited said “the youngsters from Taidob College have indeed made Nigeria and Nigerians proud. Winning four various awards is a recognition of the viability of the innovative solutions designed to save lives. The impact of their innovation – the Gas Leakage Detector – would go a very long way at solving the problem of fire outbreaks due to gas leakages in homes, offices, and industries. We congratulate Junior Achievement Nigeria on the strides achieved in Ghana”.
Last year, Inventive Explorers, from Caro Favored College Ajegunle, emerged the grand winners at the Africa Company of the Year competition in Ghana. Their rechargeable handheld LED traffic lights has solved a real problem in various congested communities and reduced traffic accidents, especially in areas with school children crossing busy streets. Over the years, FirstBank has been at the forefront of partnering with Junior Achievement Nigeria in the Company of the year program and competition.
The National Company of the Year Competition (NCOY) is an annual flagship event by Junior Achievement Nigeria’s (JAN), which convenes the winners of the JA Company Program Regional Competitions across Nigeria together to compete for the National Company of the Year Award. The national winner then proceeds to represent Nigeria against other JA Africa member-nation companies.