Ghana will host this year’s Junior Achievement (JA) Africa flagship programme, Company Of the Year (COY) competition in Accra.

The three-day competition will see students from 14 African countries converge in Accra with the competitor's ideas and products to represent the companies they have created.

The competition is aimed to provide high schools students with the opportunity to start a company on campus, run it throughout the academic year and in the end participate in a pitch competition.

Speaking to journalists at JA Africa Ghana office in Accra, the CEO of JA Africa, Elizabeth Bintliff said students participating in the programme come up with a business idea and learn how to raise capital through share certificates.

“The company programme trains young people on how to be entrepreneurs by giving them the opportunity to run a business during the course of the academic year,” she said.

“Through this experience, they will be getting coaching and theory lessons within their classrooms. It is a great opportunity for students to be able to learn” she said.

Mrs Bintlif said the students participating in the competition would come up with their own team of executives that is Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Production Manager, and Human Resource (HR) Manager, among others.

Mrs Bintiliff said the competition was important as it exposes the competitors to various concepts.

Through the qualification rounds at the national level the finalists are given the opportunity to demonstrate their business acumen, creativity and entrepreneurial thinking at the regional level.

She said the future for Africa belongs to the youth, adding that JA’s work is critical to equipping them with the relevant tools and resources to secure a better future for them and their communities.

The companies are evaluated by a panel of business professionals who determine company performance against the competition criteria as compared with other companies.

The Company of the Year Competition will be in three stages i.e. Company Report and Presentation Stage, Board Room Interview Stage and Trade Fair Stage.

The goal of the Company of the Year Competition is to balance the business achievements of each team as a whole with the personal development of each individual member.

Judges on the day of the competition will look for evidence of overall company performance through innovation and the application of new ideas in all aspects of running the company.

They will also look for an understanding that continuous improvement through innovation is essential to the success of a business. The leaders of the companies must decide how best to convey their understanding and experience to the judges.

Ghana will be represented by students from Alpha Beta Christian College.