South Africa, Johannesburg, March 29, 2021 – FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largest express transportation company, has again joined the 2021 Junior Achievement (JA) Africa ‘Company of the Year’ competition. The event engaged some of Africa’s brightest high school entrepreneurs for its 10th regional competition on the continent.
Participating student companies had the opportunity to compete for the ‘FedEx Global Possibilities’ award, which recognizes the student-run businesses that best exhibit the principles of global connectivity.
The ‘FedEx Global Possibilities’ award was presented to NagroTech, a high-school team from eSwatini. The team saw an opportunity to merge agriculture and technology as a solution to providing affordable vegetables, resulting in their “Smart Mobile Tower Garden”. The product is a movable tower garden, designed from reusable water pumps, that allows customers to grow vegetables without the use of soil – providing healthy food for the user and community.
NagroTech also connected with cross border markets to import some of the submersible water pumps needed for their products from Johannesburg, South Africa to eSwatini, and to export their finished products back to customers in South Africa.
Jack Muhs, regional president of FedEx Express Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa said, “We constantly look for opportunities to inspire, motivate, and empower young people with the skills that will help them excel in this rapidly changing environment.
I am extremely impressed with the learners across the continent, who despite recent challenges, have presented businesses that will create a sustainable future for their communities”.
The competition was held virtually from March 25 – 27, under the theme “Lead to Succeed”. 48 students represented 11 countries: Côte d’Ivoire, eSwatini, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
FedEx has worked with Junior Achievement Worldwide for more than 40 years to ensure students are equipped with the right skill sets and provided the necessary guidance to build a successful future for themselves.