JA USA: Michael Crome

When an accountant came into Michael Crome’s 11th-grade classroom in Columbus, Ohio more than two decades ago as a JA volunteer, neither one knew that day would change Michael’s life. 

Earlier this year, Michael was promoted to Chief Financial Officer of the Las Vegas Raiders, overseeing all financial aspects of the NFL team, including athlete salaries, stadium sales, merchandise, and more. 

“Junior Achievement opened the door for me,” Michael recalls, “to learn more about my future career. The volunteer who taught in my classroom inspired me with the insight about his career as an accountant. That interaction helped me to find my way into the world of finance, where I work today.

“Seeing someone who looked like me, someone that I could relate to, who was in the classroom, teaching a lesson [caused me to] go that route. I went to college, majored in accounting, and the rest is history.”

“Now, I’m trying to find more Michaels,” he says, “who may just need one or two chance interactions to set a new trajectory.”

Michael followed in his volunteer’s footsteps in another way: In 2006, he started volunteering with JA, too. By 2019, Michael was so invested in promoting JA’s mission that he had completed the World Marathon Challenge, finishing seven full marathons in seven continents over seven days to raise money for JA, after previously serving as Board Chair of JA in Las Vegas. 

INJAZ Al-Arab: Team Hasib

When the pandemic dramatically increased the number of bike riders across the Middle East, accidents and injuries also skyrocketed. One team of student entrepreneurs devised a high-tech solution.

In Bahrain, bikes are used as often as cars, but without the built-in protection that cars provide. 

Team Hasib, a JA student company from INJAZ Bahrain that won the INJAZ Al-Arab Young Enterpreneurs Celebration in 2022,, was especially concerned that accidents would drive down the number of cyclists and drive up the number of cars on the road, negating the environmental gains made during the pandemic. So the team invented a product that alerts drivers by both sound and a visual warning whenever car comes within 2.5 meters of the rider. 

Team Hasib—Habiba Maher, Hussain Al Mahoozi, Fatima Al Goud, Lulwa Osama, and Rashid Mahmood—put efficient and well-placed sensors into a small box designed to fit under the bike seat, thus creating an innovative early-alert signal cyclists may be in danger.

Hasib—which means “be careful” in Arabic—is revolutionizing Bahrainian bike travel and encouraging more riders to leave their cars at home. Like many JA student companies, profit meets sustainability seamlessly. 

JA Europe: Team Scribo

Whiteboard markers present an environmental challenge, as they dry out quickly and are tossed into waste bins in conference rooms and classrooms all over the world, resulting in millions of pounds of waste. But one JA company found a solution: zero-waste markers that also recycle printer wax that would also end up in a landfill. 

The De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award is the most prestigious student award in the JA network. Made possible by the generosity of JA Worldwide Governor Ralph de la Vega and his wife, Maria, the competition brings together the first-place JA Student Company winners from JA’s six regions.

Scribo from JA Slovakia and JA Europe took home the prize in 2022, with its zero-waste, environmentally friendly whiteboard markers made from recycled printer wax, a waste product that the printer is happy to give away for free. Miroslava Velgosová, Gréta Sotáková, Oszkár Urbán, Jakub Mičko, who make up Team Scribo, tried nearly two dozen varieties of alternative materials before finding an innovative composition that neither produces waste nor leads to dried-out markers, offering the potential to keep 35 billion markers out of landfills each year. Scribo markers are currently available in ten countries.

Thanks to the generosity of the de la Vega family, Scribo received a US$15,000 cash prize and other educational opportunities. Students are free to spend the money as they see fit, whether they continue to grow their business or further their education.

Ralph and Maria de la Vega were inspired to create this award when they attended a JA Company of the Year competition in Oslo, Norway. Inspired by the young people they saw competing, they wanted to do more. “Young people are living messages to a time we will not live to see,” Ralph said at this year’s De La Vega Global Enterpreneurship Award ceremony. “Messages of hope, messages of inspiration, messages of prosperity, and messages of peace.”

JA Asia Pacific: Cha-Ching Curriculum

Co-developed by Prudence Foundation and JA Asia Pacific, Cha-Ching Curriculum introduces economic concepts for students aged seven to twelve. The program emphasizes economic and social studies content while providing a strong focus on finance, mathematics, planning and analytical skills. Students are encouraged to use critical thinking skills to make decisions on how to manage money applying four key concepts: Earn, Save, Spend and Donate in their daily lives.

These four concepts support positive attitudes as students explore and enhance their money-management skills in the classroom and beyond. Through a variety of hands-on activities and technological supplements designed to support differentiated learning styles, students develop a better understanding of the relationship between what they learn at school and their successful participation in a worldwide economy.

At its core, Cha-Ching consists of a series of music videos featuring six lively characters, which helps children understand the fundamental money-management concepts. The six characters are members of the Cha-Ching band, each with a different approach to money management. Cha-Ching music videos feature catchy songs with lyrics and enhanced subtitles that children can sing along to, aiding comprehension and retention.

The episodes air on Cartoon Network, the number one children’s channel in Asia, in eight markets: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Offered in nine languages, the program now has over over four million views.

Also used extensively by teachers in the classroom, the Cha-Ching Curriculum has now been endorsed by the Ministry of Education of the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand and Vietnam. To date, over 500,000 students have experienced the Cha-Ching Curriculum, with more than 10,000 teachers trained.

JA Americas: Live and VR Youth Events

In 2022, the Americas region drove youth education, engagement, and empowerment by successfully hosting national and regional events, both live and virtual. Filled with a mix of inspiring speakers and hands-on, experiential workshops, the virtual NAU Fest and three editions of FIE offered youth in the Americas region additional opportunities to expand their skillsets.

With the support of the Project Management Institute Educational Foundation, JA Americas launched a new event in 2022, called NAU Fest. Hosted on the SpatialChat platform, which mimics an immersive, virtual-reality experience without the need for expensive headsets, the virtual festival featured workshops on entrepreneurship, employability, sustainability, STEM, and resilience for students ages 16 and over, all in three languages. Keynote speakers at 2022 NAU Fest included Ndaba Mandela, Muhammad Yunus, Argentine rapper Wow, Rayssa Bratillieri, Maren Lau, and more. 

Similarly, the International Entrepreneurs’ Forum (FIE) is a high-impact educational program organized by JA Mexico, Junior Achievement Argentina, and JA Guatemala in three separate events, all of which were held in person in 2022. During a FIE event, participants interact with cultures from different parts of the world; talk with prominent speakers who serve as a source of inspiration; and take part in competitions, hands-on workshops, and activities that enhance students’ skills.

In recommending the FIE Mexico event, FIE alumnus Alejandro Márquez shared his story: “More than 10 years ago, I had the opportunity to live the FIE experience and I can say, it’s one of the best experiences of my life. Now I’m an economist and I work with federal government institutions that support entrepreneurs. I’m glad that you continue with this extraordinary work.”

According to Andrés Vila, co-director of the Córdoba, Argentina, event location, FIE “is a transforming experience for young people because they encounter many different realities and cultures, yet they all agree on being the engine of change to positively impact their communities.” 

Gabriel Allasia, president of JA Córdoba (Argentina), shared that “the particularity of the 2022 event was the large number of young volunteers involved to make it possible,” most of whom were previous FIE participants. These near-peers serve as important role models to young people from across the Americas, a key component of JA’s Theory of Change.

JA Africa: Junior Billionaire's Club

More than 60 percent of Africa’s population is under the age of 25. At the same time, as the microfinance boom has enabled easy access to capital, young Africans are being targeted by financial scams and unscrupulous lending. The solution? Develop financial literacy and resilience among Africa’s 600 million youth. 

During 2022, JA Africa and The Richer Media signed a partnership to produce The Junior Billionaires Club, an animated TV series designed to teach children across Africa about financial health and wealth. By combining elements from The Richer Kids Club and JA’s entrepreneurship and financial-literacy offerings, young Africans who watch and participate in the show develop the knowledge and skills to make informed financial, business, career, and life decisions. 

The series features Lola, a 12-year-old Nigeria girl, and Kweku-Sika, a 10-year-old Ghanaian boy. The two animated characters go on adventures, through which they learn important financial lessons and grow in their leadership skills, civic awareness, and knowledge of African geography and history. 

According to Simi Nwogugu, CEO of JA Africa, “Expanding financial literacy across the continent is a key area of focus at JA Africa. This animated series gives us the opportunity to reach and educate millions of African children and young adults, especially those in hard-to-reach communities who may not have access to JA’s classroom programs or digital activities. 

“The series also spotlights inspiring African leaders,” Simi continues, “not only to celebrate them, but also to show young Africans that the continent has role models they can aspire to be like. It is our hope that schools across Africa will set up Junior Billionaires Clubs to inspire their students.” 

Once fully developed, the series will air in English, French, and Portuguese on traditional and digital-media channels. 

Clintford Cadio & Howard Zhenn Leong

Gather—JA's online alumni community—not only offers entrepreneurial opportunities and builds professional networks but also develops friendships across borders.

JA Malaysia alumnus Howard Zhenn Leong and JA Canada alumnus Clint Cadio participated in JA programs in different regions, but they became friends thanks to the JA alumni network. Clint reached out to Howard in summer 2022 when Clint joined the third cohort of Gather Reporters. Clint wanted to connect with a fellow JA alum in his area, and he also wanted to hear about Howard’s experience as a Gather Reporter (Howard joined the first cohort in 2020). They met up at the JA Southern Alberta office in Calgary and became fast friends.

Because Gather Reporters work as international storytellers, interviewing inspiring individuals and producing content for JA Worldwide, we thought we’d turn the tables and ask Clint and Howard a few questions for a change.

JA Worldwide: Let’s start with the basics. Where did you grow up and what alumni networks are you a part of?

Clint Cadio: I was born in the Philippines and moved to Alberta, Canada, when I was 12. I’m an alumnus of JA Canada and JA Americas.

Howard Zhenn Leong: I grew up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and I came to Canada to attend university. I’m an alumnus of JA Malaysia and JA Asia Pacific.

JA Worldwide: What JA programs did you participate in, and how are you involved in JA today as an alumnus?

Howard: I participated in the FedEx/JA Asia Pacific International Trade Challenge in 2018. Today, I’m a Global Alumni Ambassador, building new JA alumni chapters around the world and strengthening the network.

Clint: I participated in the JA Company Program in the 2021–2022 school year. I’m currently a Gather Reporter in the 2022–2023 cohort.

JA Worldwide: When you were a child, what job did you imagine yourself having as an adult? Has it changed now that you’re older?

Clint: As a kid, I wanted to be a race car driver because I had a passion for sports and high-performance driving. I also really enjoyed studying mathematics and science, but I recently discovered I have a passion for philosophy and the humanities.

Howard: I wanted to be a neurosurgeon, because of a TV series about doctors. It looked cool and it’s a respectable job. In school, I really enjoyed physics. I was mesmerized by the equations that represent how the physical world works.

Clint: My ambitions changed as I grew up, and now I want to pursue a career in tech and be an entrepreneur. I hope to find a job in Web 3.0, specifically in blockchain tech and artificial intelligence (AI).

Howard: My career dream has certainly changed! Currently, I’m interested in econometrics, a quantitative and statistical subfield of economics. I’m interested in this field because it uses data to make sense of complex human behaviors.

JA Worldwide: How has JA impacted your life?

Clint: JA has been a very fun ride for me. I participated in the JA Company Program through my school. I was able to learn new things and gain so much wisdom from my peers, and that empowered me to do greater things. I was developed a passion for tech that has enabled me to develop different projects that align with my desire to make an impact on the world.

Howard: I dreamed of working in a global technology and advertising agency. I dreamed of studying at a top institution. I dreamed of how I can best contribute to the nonprofit world. And JA has helped me realize these dreams.

JA Worldwide: Why do you think you became friends? And what do you find yourselves talking about when you hang out?

Clint: We have similar interests that I think make us compatible as friends and collaborate on a sophisticated level.

Howard: We have a lot of common interests, starting with JA. A lot of our conversations involve technology, venture capital, and start-ups.

Clint: Yes, we talk a lot about entrepreneurship and start-ups, as well as casual topics about life.

JA Worldwide: What do you admire most about your friend?

Howard: Clint is really good at networking and connecting with people. He relentlessly seeks out the best advice and learns from people quickly. I would also say he’s good at making his environment work for him.

Clint: I admire Howard’s ambitions and work ethic. He’s a very hard-working person, and he’s able to shoot for the moon and make an impact on people’s lives.

JA Worldwide: Where do you think you would be without JA?

Clint: I would still be a normal teenager, but my time in JA accelerated my growth as a person. It helped me identify my passions and personal values. Without JA, I wouldn’t be the same person I am today.

Howard: I was at an important juncture in my life when I encountered JA—it was during my last year in high school. I was about to start a new chapter in my life, and I had no concrete plans. I jumped at the opportunity to intern at JA Malaysia, which led to my positions with JA Asia Pacific and now JA Worldwide. I dare to say that, without JA, it’s highly unlikely that I would have achieved the goals I have set for myself. So, I wouldn’t trade my JA experience for anything.

JA Worldwide: What’s next for you two?

Clint: I’m graduating high school in the spring.

Howard: This summer, I’m going to study AI and machine learning at Oxford.

We’re excited to see what these two incredible alums do in the future! Keep up with Howard and Clint on Gather.

Marcella Bertoluci

November 24, 2022

Meet Marcella Bertoluci, JA Brazil alumna and winner of the “I am JA” Video Contest in 2019 at the JA Global Alumni Conference. We connected back with her to see how her project is coming along.

JA Worldwide: Hi Marcella, tell us a bit more about yourself and your JA alumni journey.

Marcella Bertoluci: My name is Marcella, I am 22 years old and I live in the south of Brazil. I finished my studies in Business Administration this year and I have always loved the idea of understanding the business world and the universe of entrepreneurship. That’s actually why I ended up in contact with Junior Achievement. My school offered the opportunity to participate in one of the JA’s programs back in 2016, and for 15 weeks I lived the closest experience possible to what was being an entrepreneur. After that, I kept being active in the alumni group and due to that, I had multiple opportunities that gave me another perspective on my future. As a consequence, I was sure I would follow this entrepreneurial path for my career.

JA Worldwide: In 2019 you won the “I am JA video contest” at the first-ever JA Global Alumni Conference. What was your project back then?

Marcella: At the same year I participated in JA’s program, I had another amazing opportunity from my school. It was an event for the students of social project creation and I made my own. I was indeed inspired by JA to be the protagonist of my own story and as a consequence, I embraced the opportunity. My project was an initiative to help the adoption process of children and teenagers that had little expectations of having a new family. I gathered adults in the line to adopt these sheltered children in my old school with the support and partnership of the government. After 5 editions of the events since 2017, 7 kids got adopted due to this initiative. As a consequence, the government integrated the project into its official agenda.

JA Worldwide: How did your project change who you are, what’s new?

Marcella: I definitely became more proactive, responsible, empathetic, and resilient after this whole process. Unfortunately, I can no longer execute it as it was before in my city due to political and social concerns. However, I can still impact people in different manners, that’s definitely something that I have learned from all of this experience. No matter the circumstances we can always find ways to fulfill our beliefs. And of course, this project will be forever my baby and one of my greatest achievements.

JA Worldwide: What are your big dreams for the future?

Marcella:  Currently I am trying to balance my work and a new project. During this whole journey, I have cross passed a lot of challenges concerning the adoption scenario and the financial sustainability of my previous initiative. Basically, a lot of families that were formed during these years didn’t adapt, therefore the families returned the children and teenagers to the shelters. I dedicated my completion of coursework to understanding what causes an impact in this family’s lives to avoid breaking them apart. With the knowledge, I gathered from interviews I have created a phygital game for foster families that builds stronger relationship in order to avoid the adoption devolution. With all that said, I aim to open a company with this initiative in the future and actually generating positive impact in these peoples lives.

Connect with Marcella and thousands of JA alumni on Gather, the JA alumni community.

Azad Ali

Azad Ali’s path to entrepreneurship took a number of harrowing turns. As a 12-year-old, he escaped from Kurdistan, and after several years of dangerous travels, he finally ended up in Sweden, where he began training as a skilled carpenter.

Occasionally, he tested his skills by creating furniture and accessories for his own use. One such creation was a modern wooden lamp, which he developed not as a prototype to launch a business, but simply as a beautiful way to increase lighting in his home.

Then one day, a friend stopped by and marveled at the workmanship. “Where I can buy one of these?” the friend asked, admiring the lamp. Azad volunteered to make another one.

A second friend had the same reaction a few weeks later. Then a friend of a friend. Requests started rolling in.

Around the same time, Azad enrolled in the JA Company Program through Ung Företagsamhet (JA Sweden), through which high-school students form real companies, develop a product or service, market and sell the product, and assess their profits.

When it was time for Azad and his team to choose a product for his company, he knew just the thing!

Azad, with his prototype lamp, in 2018

The team called themselves Trälampor-UF, organized as a JA company. “I dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur,” Azad said. “Through Ung Företagsamhet, my entrepreneurial journey took off, and we started making these environmentally friendly lamps.”

The team ended up presenting, setting up a trade booth, and competing at the national JA Sweden Company of the Year competition in Stockholm, where he sold two lamps to Mikael Damberg, Sweden’s Minister for Industry and Innovation. The Minister later posted a short video on social media showing his new lamp and demonstrating how easy it was to assemble. 

“I brought one of Azad’s lamps home,” Mikael says in the video, “and today, I assembled it. It went faster than IKEA.” As you can imagine, the video received plenty of attention online.

Azad was later selected to represent his region at a dinner at the Royal Palace with the royal family, all of Sweden’s governors, and another 180 invited guests, ranging from celebrities and sports stars to community leaders. The Swedish dinner is an annual event to celebrate Swedes—including Azad—who have made a significant contribution to society.

It was an overwhelming experience for Azad to visit the palace. “I never had a country. Where I come from, you are never exposed to the people who are in charge. When I left the palace, I cried. It’s an experience I will never forget,” Azad said. While at the dinner, Azad also had a chance to talk to Prince Daniel, who sits on the board of JA Sweden. They spoke for 30 minutes, and the Prince ordered one of Azad’s lamps.

Trälampor-UF was reorganized in 2018 into an individual company and changed its name to AXD, which stands for Azad eXciting Design. Azad, now 25, continues to grow AXDSweden, which has branched into new lines. “I have broadened the range at AXDSweden,” Azad told us. “We currently have six employees and a premises of approximately 3,000 sq meters, where our employees manufacture furniture, interiors, displays, and shop fittings, and also offer contract manufacturing.”

Azad in 2022, at the AXD Sweden headquarters.

AXD Sweden and Azad recently won the 2022 ICA Entrepreneur Award “Local Hero of the Year—Junior” from among 200 nominees and five finalists. The award brings a prize of SEK 100,000. ICA, a major food retailer, created the annual award to pay tribute to committed residents who moved to Sweden and inspire others to take similar initiatives. "Azad Ali has proven to be an entrepreneur through and through,” the award committee said. “With solid craftsmanship and a sense of business, his AXDSweden has grown and become a significant player in Nybro, Sweden, where he is also a local role model for many young people." Azad added, “The prize sum will be used to develop our web presence and eventually open up an online store that will also target private individuals. The AXDSweden brand will be bigger!”

Azad also tries to give back by mentoring and supporting Swedish youth: “A lot of entrepreneurs helped and supported me on my journey,” he says. “And now I see, in so many other young people who have emigrated to Sweden, the same will and interest I had in running a business.”

Like so many of JA’s 100+ million alumni, Azad Ali is making the world a little bit brighter.

Nadia Ladak

November 22, 2022

Earlier this month, David Meltzer’s 2 Minute Drill aired an episode exclusively featuring JA alumni contestants from six JA locations:

• JA Austria alumnus Amin Faziani, founder of Preswipe

• JA Uruguay alumna Andrea Herrera, CEO of Quiral

• Junior Achievement of Northcentral Ohio alumnus, Gavin Williams, CEO of FinLit

• JA Canada alumna, Nadia Ladak, co-founder and CEO of Marlow

• UF Sverige (JA Sweden) alumna Sara Tengvall, founder and CEO of Belreis

 The six contestants each had two minutes to pitch their businesses to David and a panel of judges: Jayson Waller, entrepreneur, investor, business growth consultant, author, and host of podcast "True Underdog"; Rory Cutaia, founder and CEO of Verb Technology Co.; and Rob Gill, founder and Director of EPIC Financial Strategies. In the end, Nadia Ladak won over the judges with her pitch for Marlow, a tampon company that’s revolutionizing menstruation products. We sat down with her to learn more about Marlow and her experience with JA.

JA Worldwide: Hi Nadia, congratulations on winning US$50,000 on the special alumni episode of 2 Minute Drill! Tell us a bit more about who you are and what Marlow does.

Nadia Ladak: Hi! I am the co-founder and CEO of Marlow, a menstrual-wellness brand that launched the first-ever lubricated tampon experience. We want to empower menstruators to take charge of their menstrual health with comfortable products and reliable education. Inserting tampons is not always the most comfortable process, especially on the first and last day of a period when the flow is lighter. For some, this process is even more uncomfortable including first-time menstruators, individuals with medical conditions such as vaginismus, and those with higher levels of vaginal dryness. We combine 100 percent organic cotton tampons with a water-based lubricant to create a smoother, more comfortable insertion process. The products can be purchased on our website and are also delivered on a subscription model so that you never run out of products. Beyond our innovative product, our mission is to reduce the stigma around menstrual and sexual health. We’ve built a community of over 50,000 menstruators through easily digestible education and online conversation. With this, it is our goal to begin to normalize menstrual and sexual health as key aspects of overall wellness.

JA Worldwide: How did you come up with your business idea?

Nadia: Marlow started in our fourth year of university as part of an entrepreneurship capstone project. Our professors asked us to identify a problem that we were passionate about solving and, after reading an article about how the modern tampon hadn’t changed significantly in the last 90 years, my friends and I (who are now my co-founders) were immediately drawn to the menstrual health space. We started to dive in and realized that there were several problems to solve, including the limited product innovation, overly feminine and outdated marketing, and lack of community, conversation, and education. The primary issue we decided to tackle was the painful insertion of tampons. My co-founder shared that she had a lot of pain when inserting tampons. She’s an active individual and a swimmer and felt that pads, her only alternative, limited her in her daily active lifestyle while on her period. She went to the gynecologist to try to find a solution, only to be told to “spit” on her tampon. We were shocked and knew there must be a better way to solve this problem, which led us to creating the first-ever lubricated tampon.

JA Worldwide: How did the JA program in Canada influence your entrepreneurial journey?

Nadia: JA gave me an early taste of what it was like to pursue entrepreneurship. I got to learn about all the aspects of starting a business in a low-risk environment, supported by mentors. Now, being a mentor myself, I’m so excited to give back and inspire other students to love entrepreneurship and solve problems that they’re passionate about.

JA Worldwide: What are your big dreams for the future?

Nadia: Our north star is to build the category-defining brand in menstrual care to ensure that no menstruator is held back because of their period. We want to empower menstruators to live life on their own terms and to have access to reliable education and the knowledge to take charge of their menstrual health. We want to continue to push the standards for products and create comfortable solutions. We believe lubricated tampons will become the “new normal”. Imagine if from the start, lubricated tampons were introduced to the market, it would be silly to use a dry tampon when smoother and more comfortable options existed. So, similar to how Kleenex became synonymous with tissues, we want Marlow to be synonymous with the new normal of lubricated tampons, allowing individuals to actively participate in their lives, regardless of the time of the month.

Watch the JA Alumni episode of 2 Minute Drill—and all the other episodes, too—for free on davidmeltzer.tv.

Afrah Shuja

In May 2022, David Meltzer’s entrepreneur pitch show 2 Minute Drill aired an episode featuring six JA alumni from around the world: Alyssa Le, Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas (USA) alumna, Founder & CEO, Locket; Ida Johansson, Fonden for Entreprenørskab (JA Denmark) alumna, Founder & CEO, Turn Consulting; Kordian Caplazi, Young Enterpise Switzerland alumnus, Co-Founder, Rimon Technologies; Love Dager, Ung Företagsamhet (JA Sweden) alumnus, Founder & CEO, NextGenGov; Mykolas Aškelovičius, Lietuvos Junior Achievement (JA Lithuania) alumnus, Co-Founder, Yuffi; and Afrah Shuja, INJAZ UAE alumna, Founder & CEO, CorteX Wellness.

On 2 Minute Drill, contestants have two minutes to pitch their business to a panel of powerhouse businesspeople for the chance to win a cash prize of US$50,000. The alumni episode featured Verb Technology founder and CEO Rory Cutaia, Trade and Travel founder Teri Ijeoma, Powerhome Solar founder and CEO Jayson Waller, and show host and JA University Chief Chancellor (and fellow JA alumnus) David Meltzer. Unsurprisingly (at least to us), the six alumni blew the judges away with their pitches.

So . . . who won the US$50,000?

Afrah Shuja!

“I founded CorteX Wellness after learning about how many people are suffering from psychological disorders and mental health issues at school in particular,” Afrah said, “especially after witnessing, you know, how the pandemic affected my friends in my immediate circle. I decided that it's important to build something to help them.” CorteX Wellness provides direct lines of communication to therapists and counselors for students ages 10–18 years old in UAE. Users can also join interest groups, find additional resources, and sign up for events through the platform. “I've been doing this for a year now,” said 18-year-old Afrah. “You know, I want to really test my potential and see what my limits are, and then push those even more. Just put it in my all every day and see where it takes me.”

Afrah’s Pitch

“Fifteen-year-old Sarah was upset about her low grades, but she kept it to herself. Nobody knew until she died by suicide, leaving her friends and parents grieving. And she is not alone. In fact, approximately one in six youth reported making a suicide plan in 2019. And it’s not that schools just don’t care about this. They don’t have the infrastructure in place to do so adequately. I noticed that affecting my friends. So I built a website to facilitate remote counselor communication. And with its success, I realized I could do so much more. Fast forward, and that project is now accompany: Cortex Wellness. We’re digitizing school wellbeing-support systems. For example, in the place of super long and boring psychological surveys, we’re gamifying those online. You can book a school counselor appointment and find help with the privacy and ease student like Sarah deserve. We are currently pre revenue having just launched our MVP and R&D that follows with 84% of students saying that having Cortex at their school would have helped them with a mental health issue. We toured schools an annual fee and our milestone market in the GCC is valued at $2.21 billion. We’ve received over 11 recognitions including first place at the Harvard Innovation Challenge and Company of the Year by INJAZ UAE. We plan to service 10 to 15 schools this year. I acknowledge I’m only 18 years old, but I surround myself with awesome people. I’m joined by my former business teacher and school wellbeing researcher full time as well as an advisory board with experts and executives. This is not only a huge market gap, but one that we have a social responsibility to fill. With the $50,000 we will have the seed necessary to scale our tech and help schools better actively prevent tragedies like Sarah’s from happening ever again. Thank you.”

— Afrah Shuja's pitch for Cortex Wellness

Afrah and her team developed Cortex Wellness during their time in the JA Company Program with INJAZ UAE, and they won the national Company of the Year competition. Additionally, the company won first place in the Harvard Innovation Challenge and Abu Dhabi University’s Entrepreneurial Challenge, and it is part of the United Nations SDSN Youth Project and startAD incubator at NYU Abu Dhabi.

Check out Cortex Wellness for yourself and give it a follow on Instagram!

In addition to the US$50,000 in cash and prizes awarded to the winner, each episode features the JA Impact Award. This award is given to the contestant whose company demonstrates the greatest social impact. The recipient of the Impact Award is selected based on their mission-driven values and has the opportunity to align with JA Worldwide to our alumni network, driving awareness to their brand through millions of entrepreneurs around the world. The award also comes with a US$1,000 donation to JA Worldwide in that contestant’s name. But, of course, with this special episode came a special surprise for all six contestants and for JA . . .

“I am so impressed by all of the contestants,” David Meltzer said, “that I'm going to make a donation in the name of each of the contestants. Because it's so impressive and the issues that they're addressing are so important. And I encourage anyone out there that watches this episode, we support Junior Achievement because if anything is going to be a testament to what that program does for our future.”

Watch the special JA alumni episode of 2 Minute Drill below or on davidmeltzer.tv.

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Elena Tosheva

Elena Tosheva joined the JA Worldwide Board of Governors in 2020, but she was associated with JA long before that. Born in Bulgaria, Elena participated in the JA Company Program as a teenager, which was her first introduction to the world of entrepreneurship. Passionate about building high-impact communities and empowering people to create and innovate as entrepreneurs, she has worked in tech, NGOs, and academia, striving to create scalable solutions for today’s most pressing challenges.

Today, Elena is Brand Marketing Manager at Google, where she builds greater trust and stronger relationships with key opinion formers and partners across the EU. She leads the Brand and Reputation strategy in Brussels on key topics and helps to shape Google’s company-wide programs across Europe.

Before joining Google, Elena was part of the startup team behind City.AI, a platform for applied artificial intelligence. As the Global Head of Community, she built the global network, spanning across 70+ cities on six continents with thousands of active members from academia, business, and governments. Previously, she oversaw the Techstars Startup Programs across Europe and has supported the growth of startup communities in 140+ European cities.

““I was very lucky to be part of a JA program as a teenager. I wish for all young people to have a similar opportunity. My JA experience helped me cultivate constant curiosity, while building up my self-confidence and resilience early on. I believe that JA empowers the new generations to build a better world. And I am thrilled to continue supporting its ever-more relevant mission by joining the Board of Governors.””

— Elena Tosheva

Elena has been an active JA alumnus and volunteer since 2006. She served as president of JA Alumni Europe from 2012–2014 and is an active JA Alumni Honoris member. A group of JA alumni from Europe who have achieved something extraordinary in the fields of entrepreneurship or business or within the JA alumni network, Honoris aim to improve the recognition of the JA alumni brand and to continue giving back to JA as mentors, advisors, volunteers and donors. In 2019, the Honoris gifted €55,000 to JA Worldwide in recognition of JA’s Centennial.

As a member of the JA Worldwide Board of Governors, and the first to fill the JA alumni member seat, Elena represents JA alumni around the world and brings both student and alumni perspectives to the decision-making table. She also serves on the JA Board Marketing Committee.

Aya Yousef

INJAZ Lebanon alumna Aya Yousef, a nominee for the first-ever Global Student Prize and architecture student at the American University of Beirut, spent time as a child in a refugee camp. We’re truly inspired by Aya’s journey, and we think you will be, too.

We are #AUBProud for the shortlisting of our #AUB AGFE scholar Aya Yousef, Architecture major, as one of the Top 50 finalists among 3500 applicants to the https://t.co/Ew7Yry16ht Global Student Prize. @cheggdotorg @AGFforE @MSFEA_AUB https://t.co/mCnokBBLNv pic.twitter.com/uf4oQcIrJz

— American University of Beirut (@AUB_Lebanon) September 17, 2021

JA Worldwide: Given your own experience, what are some of the biggest challenges facing children in refugee settlements, especially in terms of Global Goal 4, Quality Education?

Aya: The biggest challenge facing young refugees is a lack of access to proper education and what that does to their mindset. But another major issue is the architecture and infrastructure of camps, which lack open, green spaces, and this led to my current major.

In 2016, I started the first-ever coding club at my school, in which I shared my knowledge and experience in coding with around 20 students who were willing and eager to learn something new. I wanted to reach students with a similar background—who had lived in a refugee settlement—because I didn’t think they would have learned to code in a settlement, yet that knowledge can open up so many opportunities and revolutionize a student’s mindset.

I started noticing that these students also lacked access to resources about attending universities and earning scholarships in Lebanon. I had already been researching this information for myself and decided to start sharing these opportunities. I became part of an outreach team to spread the word about educational opportunities at the best universities in Lebanon. I partnered a year later with two other change makers with the same vision and mission, and we co-founded ToRead to increase the scale of our outreach.

JA Worldwide: Can you tell us more about ToRead?

Aya: ToRead works on bridging and filling the gap between high school students and universities/scholarship foundations. It is an online platform that allows high school students to search, filter, and compare university and scholarship options in Lebanon and abroad. They can compare all university options in Lebanon, check applying criteria, and available services and programs. They can also find scholarships and other opportunities they are eligible to apply to.

Today, I am no longer an active program manager; however, prior to leaving, my co-founders and I were able to register it officially as a company and even win several awards, including the Soraya Salti Best Company in the Arab World in Youth Entrepreneurship Forum 2020, the MasterCard Excellence in Technology Award in 2020, the INJAZ Lebanon Company of the Year Award in 2020, the Asfari Challenge for Social Innovation in the education sector in 2020, the incubation support by Nawaya Network 2019, and more.

JA Worldwide: What led you to choose architecture as your major?

Aya: Once I saw the architectural challenges of refugee settlements (and, now, planning a better camp is on my bucket list!), I wanted to make it my focus of study. Architecture opens the eye and widens the mindset, changing how you think about a building, the space around it, its users, the city it’s located in, and more. Architecture has changed my vision of the world and my personal mission to the humanity.

Architecture opens the door for many opportunities in various fields, because it’s about more than buildings. What I have found most interesting in my academic journey is how the design skills I’m learning are integrated with graphic and digital design, social media, animation, filmmaking, and more. The architectural journey doesn’t stop! For example, I never imagined I would find myself working on an agricultural architectural prototype, tackling food insecurity and roof gardening. Architecture is a starting point; a tool to be pushed beyond its usual limits.

JA Worldwide: What do you remember most about participating in the JA Company Program?

Aya: Right after we started, we were in mentorship sessions, developing our startup, preparing for the pitch and demo day. From there, we got to specialize and build our business. We competed on the national level, and then moved on to the INJAZ Al-Arab competition with 13 other countries. We had so many new experiences and success, and also networked and connected with mentors and other students.

Apio Sarah Ongom

Apio Sarah Ongom heard about the JA Superfan Contest—launched by JA Worldwide to highlight the 2020 virtual Boston Marathon and associated fundraiser—during the summer of 2020 from her home in Kampala, Uganda, where she had been expanding her workout routine. Before the pandemic, Apio Sarah found that she would get busy and postpone her workouts, although she still managed to run twice a week and set aside some time for short yoga workouts at the end of each day. COVID-19, however, brought both restrictions and more time, and each contributed to Apio Sarah’s increased exercise routine. She lengthened her yoga workouts, ran longer and more often, and spent her early mornings and late afternoons walking to and from her apprenticeship, about 4 kilometers each way. She was no longer skipping workouts, so a contest that gave points for exercise was a perfect fit.

A business-administration student at Makerere University Business School, 24-year-old Apio Sarah first got to know JA in February 2020, when she heard about a campaign called “Tide Turners: Africa Beats Plastic,” organized by JA Africa and the United Nations Environment Programme. She liked and followed JA Africa’s Facebook page to learn more about plastics and their role in pollution, and then signed up to participate. “The whole campaign period was amazing,” Apio Sarah recalls, “and I emerged as the overall winner. (Also flip to pages 12 and 13 of the campaign report, below, to see her feature.) After that, I signed up for JA Africa’s newsletter and that’s how I learned about a bigger body called JA Worldwide. I later followed JA Worldwide on Facebook and Twitter and signed up for a monthly newsletter,” where she learned about her chance at being crowned JA’s Biggest Superfan.

Through the JA Africa Tide Turners campaign, Sarah learned skills that aren’t taught in a traditional classroom. She advocated on behalf of the environment, using her voice for a positive change and learning creative ideas for how to make money while recycling plastics. “I also got exposed to other meaningful ways of environmental protection,” she says, “which I believe will enable me to become an advocate for the environment at all levels. JA Africa allowed me to speak at the Online National Youth Summit Plastic Tide Turner’s Challenge 2020, organized by the United Nations Environment Programme in India (view below) in June. I am super proud to be part of JA.”

Sizolwethu Maphanga

At only 18 years old, JA Eswatini alumnus Sizolwethu Maphanga became an award-winning CEO, a voice for youth in her country, and a rising force in the African technology sector.

Sizolwethu Maphanga’s participation in the JA Company Program enabled her to transform her appetite for tech into a burgeoning career. In 2018, she co-founded JA student company Nazware Innovations, which created IVOTE, an app that eliminates lines and other delays and ensures accuracy and transparency during the voting process. Under her leadership, her student company won second place at the JA Africa Company of the Year Competition, and Sizolwethu received both the Christi Maherry CEO Rising Award and the JA Africa Employability Award. The company continued to grow after the JA Company Program. In 2019, Sizolwethu shared, “We have been approached by our government, which wants to use the voting system for national elections in four years.”

She went on to participate in the African Girls Can Code Initiative’s first coding camp for girls in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A joint initiative from the African Union Commission, UN Women, and the International Telecommunications Union, the four-year program teaches girls digital literacy, coding, and personal development skills. The initiative held a contest to select a logo idea from among its students, and judges selected Sizolwethu’s design.

Not only did the logo design competition cement her place in the initiative’s history, it also meant an invitation to meet one-on-one with UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who believes the inclusion of girl and women in tech jobs is essential. Sizolwethu called meeting the Secretary-General “one of the greatest accomplishments of my life. Meeting the Secretary-General, the person who is at the top of the UN, was one of the best things that has ever happened to me.”

In 2020, as a featured speaker at a commemoration ceremony for International Youth Day, Sizolwethu said young people in Eswatini—a population numbering around 700,000—“simply need a listening ear, resources, and a little bit of faith.” In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic raging at the time, she addressed the challenges young people in Eswatini faced, especially the 46.55% youth unemployment rate and the prevalence of HIV among girls ages 15–19 years. “I believe the youth are fresh, vigorous, and innovative,” she said. “Their ideas, combined with the experience of the older people, can help bring about impactful economic activity in the country.”

Today, Sizolwethu continues the career in technology she began with the JA Company Program and Nazware Innovations. With aspirations to start an agriculture technology company, she seeks to transform the agriculture sector by developing software and equipment for farmers. “The goal is to make people more productive in their agricultural activities through the use of my technology products,” she said. “The services will range from security-like tracking devices for livestock, digital marketing and IT equipment production.”

We can’t wait to see what she does next!

Mabel Simpson

Story by Helenah Swedberg; photos by Kate Carlton

The droning sound of sewing machines rises from the small workshop next to Mabel Simpson’s house. She sorts through a stack of African-print fabrics, while her two employees stitch together colorful laptop bags, handbags, backpacks, shirts, and cushions. One of the sewing machines once belonged to Mabel’s grandmother, and it has supported Mabel since she quit her office job over a decade ago to to launch mSimps, her own fashion brand.  

“I love art, but my previous job had nothing to do with it,” Mabel says. Although making a career out of art is unusual in Ghana, Mabel studied visual arts in school, and it was there that she also learned to run a retail operation, though JA. Her school had a “JA Shop” on campus, and students were responsible for all aspects of managing the store, including keeping it running and profitable, learning the basics of business.

Mabel took those skills and poured them into the mSimps shop in Accra, Ghana. “The most important thing I learned from JA was business management,” Mabel says. “I’m really grateful for that opportunity. I don’t know if I would have managed to do all this without that experience.”  

But being an entrepreneur can be a lonely path. “Few people understand it,” Mabel says. “They think you can wake up anytime and work anytime, and that you make a lot of money. But as an entrepreneur, you are always paying other people. You only survive if you have financial discipline.” 

She wants to be an advocate for art and let young people know that they can make a career out of their artistic passions. “Some students want to study visual art, but their parents force them to pick something else,” Mabel says. “Art is underappreciated, but the key is knowing how to turn your passion into a paying job.” Mabel remembers a former mentor once telling her, “Art won’t pay you; business will pay you.” She now shares this advice with all the young art lovers she meets.  

““You need both a creative mindset and business know-how. JA gives you all of this.””

— Mabel Simpson

Update to our original story!

Since our visit to Mabel’s shop in 2018, she has expanded to a large online store. You can find her product at https://msimpsgh.com. MSimps also now provides the opportunity for students to have internships during vacations to enable them have hands on knowledge, skill, and experience. Mabel also partners with Soar Global Foundation, an NGO dedicated to children education and community development, by organizing reading clinics for children in orphanages and underperforming schools and raising funds to stock books in school libraries across Ghana.

Team Shatla: One-Stop Shop for Plants

INJAZ Al-Arab JA MENA | INJAZ Oman

Shahad al Hasani, Sarah Al Zaabi, Zainab Al Lawati, Ahmed Al Lawati, Hashim Mustafa

Houseplants and outdoor plantings are difficult to come by in Oman, especially in urban areas. Nurseries are not close-by, offer only a small number of products, and are usually understaffed, all of which makes finding plants is a challenge.

To tackle this issue, INJAZ Oman students conceived of, designed, and opened The Shatla Store, a website that brings nurseries within reach through edutainment (browsing  the site is a well-designed plant learning experience), online ordering, and home delivery. The gardening box that arrives included specific seeds that will grow into the exact right houseplant, a well-designed mix of dirt, a handheld shovel, and entertaining care instructions . . . everything Omanis need to grow the houseplants that fit their lives.

The road to creating The Shatla Store wasn’t easy. With the mounting pressures of high-school—especially with college looming and the importance of performing well in classes in order to open up scholarship opportunities—two critical team members left the company. When that happened, the rest of the team considered doing the same. 

Instead, demonstrating the resilience that makes JA so necessary in youth education, the remaining team returned to its original vision, developed a new business plan, and then undertook a marketing campaign that resulted in a 75% increase in sales.

Today, Shatla manages over 1,000 different plant species and, thanks to relationships with nurseries all over Oman, makes local pick-up possible. As their customers grow products from seeds to plants, Shatlas has its eye on the future, which includes landscaping, irrigation systems, Shatla-branded nurseries, and expansion beyond Oman.

Team NagroTech: Fresh Vegetables in Eswatini

JA Africa | JA Eswatini

Sivesetfu Bhembe, Sibongakonkhe Dlamini, Lindelwa Zindela, Nkhosinathi Dlamini

NagroTech was founded as a JA Eswatini company to solve three challenges: the low availability of vegetables in the Kingdom of Eswatini; inflation in the costs of vegetables, when they can be found; the lack of land faced by most residents, making growing their own vegetables nearly impossible.

NagroTechPTY turned to hydroponic gardening, which is designed to use water—rather than soil—as the medium for growth, along with liquid nutrition that’s made up entirely of local compost from kitchen leftovers. The system is both mobile and decorative, making it perfect for urban and suburban residents. 

JA students designed a system that is simple for the user: plant the seeds in the provided tubing, and add the liquid nutrient. From there, fresh, crispy, nutritious vegetables can grow in any size dwelling, even a small apartment.

Team Evo: Eco-Friendly Straws

Junior Achievement USA

Alyssa Le, Richard Chan, Megan Konvicka, Jeran Kong, Kayla Awadin

As Houston, Texas, began to experience plastic-straw bans that were meant to lower plastic consumption, Team Eco from JA of Southeast Texas went looking for an alternative. Enter ThreEvo, an eco-friendly, easy-to-carry kit made up of bamboo straws, a cleaner, and a case. 

“Plastic straws are the eighth-leading plastic pollutant,” says CEO Alyssa Le, “yet we use them all the time. Especially high schoolers. We love going out to study, going out to hang out, so we really wanted to find a solution that would genuinely make an impact.”

The team sourced bamboo and brushes, and then went to work drilling, cutting, and sewing components that went into the recycled case, keeping a close eye on product quality by being active in the manufacturing process. 

Although the initial business plan called for partnering with popular restaurants and fast-food chains—relationships that Evo successfully navigated—the pandemic created a need for a more private option, so they started selling ThreEvo through an online commerce site, using social media and promotions to drive users to the site.

Team Revival: Seeing Value in Discarded Plastic

JA Asia Pacific | JA Singapore

Tina Jiang, Sam Liu, Carlota Pinker Rego, Dhruv Sharma, Guanju Wang, Jackson Wang, Kevin Yu, Terry Zhang, Coco Zhou

Advertisers in Singapore use plastic banners to draw attention to products and events, ranging from restauraunt offerings to concerts. But once each non-recyleable banner has played its part, it’s discarded. Or at least it was, before a  JA Singapore team got involved.

Team Revival saw potential in the strong, waterproof, free materials in each banner and set about looking for a way to repurpose them. The result is the Versa bag, wearable in three ways: over the shoulder, as a cross-body bag, or as a backpack. In just the first few months of production, Revival kept more than 40kg of banner waste out of Singapore landfills. And they intend to keep climbing higher.

When developing its business plan, Team Revival made a decision to use only public transportation to deliver products, in order to further reduce the company’s carbon footprint. Then, Revival partnered with a local nonprofit in two ways: the team outsourced labor to the marginalized community members served by the nonprofit, workers who are in need of demonstrable skills in order to re-enter the workforce. Second, Team Revival gives a portion of each bag’s profit to the nonprofit.

Banners kept out of landfill. A low carbon footprint for delivery services. Marginalized community members gaining skills. And a donation for every purchase. 

Revival is saving Planet Earth, one bag at a time.