10th JA Africa Company of the Year (COY) Competition

March 2021 Eswatini

The 10th JA Africa Company of the Year (COY) Competition took place online from March 25^th to 27^th , 2021. Teams from 11 countries, totaling 44 students, presented their business project to the jury. The winner of the competition was Nagro Tech PTY Ltd from Eswatini with their solution combining a structure with liquid nutrients made from recycled left-over food to grow vegetables without soil. The second prize was granted to GJI Technologie from Côte d’Ivoire, for their Eco-wind stand-alone fan with music. The third place was taken by EG Company from Mauritius for their fashionable mask and a mini sanitizer holder.

The ceremony was graced by the Prime Minister of Eswatini His Excellency Themba Masuku and had Mrs. Aicha Evans, CEO of Zoox, the billion-dollar self-driving car company as a Special Guest Speaker. Signature sponsor of the event, Tomorrow Foundation was represented by its Chief Advisor M. Liban Soleman who granted the Foundation Future Tech Award to Self-Made from Ghana for their fitness application project and Music Plaques for You (MP4U) from South Africa for their personalized glass plates linked to a song.

During the award ceremony, M. Soleman highlighted the absolute necessity for Africa to take part to the 4^th industrial revolution and create “a new class of entrepreneurs” in the field of digitalization, Internet of Things, Cloud services, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and 3D printing. He also reminded that the Covid context represents a great “catalyst” to boost the development of new technologies in Africa.