FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) andthe world’s largest express transportation company, is proud toannounce Mobile Intelligence Technologies from Zimbabwe as thewinner of the FedEx Global Possibilities Award at this year’sJunior Achievement (JA) Africa Company of the Year Competition(COY).
This honour recognises Mobile Intelligence Technologies as thestudent company in the region that best embodies the principles ofa business that creates global possibilities. JA student companiesare businesses created by high school students that are enrolled inthe JA Company Program within a school setting. Under this program,students identify challenges around them, come up with innovativeideas to solve them, and put their ideas into action by launchingand operating a real business with other students, under theguidance of business professionals and mentors.
The competition, held from December 6-8 in Kigali, is theculmination of the annual JA Company Programme – anentrepreneur-development initiative where 30,000 student entrantslearn the fundamentals of running a business. At least a thousandstudent companies compete at provincial and national levels for anopportunity to represent their country at a continental level, forAfrica’s largest high school pitch competition.
The theme of this year’s competition was “Breaking Barriers”.For FedEx, a long-time sponsor of the COY competition, the themeespecially resonates as the company connects people andpossibilities through its vast logistics operation andnetworks.
More than 40 student entrepreneurs, representing 13 Africancountries, came together with individual hopes of winning and acommon purpose of identifying and finding solutions to challengeswithin their respective communities.
“These young business leaders of tomorrow are an inspiration tous all,” said Taarek Hinedi, vice president of FedEx Express MiddleEast and Africa operations. “Their vision for a better future forthe planet, along with their imagination and creativity, surpassany imaginable barriers.”
Since 60% of Africa’s population is under the age of 25[1], theyouth hold great potential for the future of the continent. Thus,the FedEx Global Possibilities Award acknowledges the youth-ledstart-up with the greatest potential to drive innovation, connectto new markets, fuel community development, and act sustainablywith social responsibility.
Meeting these criteria, Mobile Intelligence Technologies – acompany founded eight months ago by Chuma Tapiwa Madungwe,Dzinavatonga Prosper, Tarirana Prince Marley, and Ruzive Anesu fromNdarama High School in Zimbabwe - has identified one of the biggestchallenges facing the African educational system; a lack of accessto lab e to perform chemistry experiments. The studentsdiscovered that approximately 76% of schools in their community donot have science labs, and therefore cannot comprehensively offerScience, Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Mathematics (STEM)education. The students’ focus area was to ensure that every youngperson has access to practical science lessons and experiments.
The start-up’s solution to this challenge is to create a virtualchemistry lab that’s accessible via a mobile app called MI-Lab, andavailable in 12 languages. The app allows students to performexperiments, receive lab reports, and determine the results of theexperiments, while also reducing the need for students to encounterany harmful chemicals. The app is also accessible for individualswith disabilities through voice activation and commands. It hasalready gone live in more than one African country and employspeople from local communities.
“Empowering the youth to create opportunities through anentrepreneurial mindset is critical, both for their futures and thefuture of Africa’s economic development,” added Hinedi. “FedEx iscommitted to supporting the empowerment of these youngentrepreneurs through our sponsorship of the JA Africa Company ofthe Year Competition.”
The overall winner of the JA Africa competition will alsocompete on the global stage and carry the hopes of the region withthem.
“The standard of the entries this year was phenomenal.Congratulations once again to Mobile Intelligence Technologies andall the other award winners,” concluded Hinedi.
[1]http://ivint.org/south-africas-youth-population-unemployment-and-economic-growth-prospects/
About FedEx Corp.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwidewith a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and businessservices. With annual revenue of nearly $90 billion, the companyoffers integrated business solutions through operating companiescompeting collectively, operating collaboratively and innovatingdigitally as one FedEx. Consistently ranked among the world’s mostadmired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 500,000employees to remain focused on safety, the highest ethical andprofessional standards and the needs of their customers andcommunities. FedEx is committed to connecting people andpossibilities around the world responsibly and resourcefully, witha goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2040. To learn more,please visit fedex.com/about.
About Junior Achievement (JA) Africa
As one of the Africa’s largest and most-impactful youth-servingNGOs, JA Africa delivers hands on, immersive learning in workreadiness, financial health, entrepreneurship, sustainability,STEM, economics, citizenship, ethics, and more. JA Africa has apresence in 16 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and collectively wereach more than 900,000 youth in more than 3,000 schools each year.JA Africa Works in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Eswatini,Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal,South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Learn moreat
