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Student Entrepreneurs Honored at Asia Pacific Company of the Year Competition |
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For Immediate Release:
STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS
HONORED AT FEDEX Students from Around Asia Pacific Demonstrate Strong Business Fundamentals and Passion for Entrepreneurship Hong Kong - Cozy Care, student-run company from Turkmenistan, took first place at the first-ever Junior Achievement Asia Pacific Company of the Year Competition, a three-day competition designed to nurture an entrepreneurship spirit and business skills in secondary school students. The inaugural Asia Pacific Company of the Year Competition took place from January 17 to 20 in Hong Kong, featuring a total of 65 students representing 13 student companies founded and managed by students between age 15 and 19. The students are from 10 markets including Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Turkmenistan. The competition is jointly organized by FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world's largest express transportation company, and U.S.-based JA Worldwide®, the world's largest organization dedicated to empowering young people to own their economic success. Cozy Care developed the innovative "Care Cushions," a portable cushion that customers can use for comfortable seating anytime, anywhere. The company members worked seamlessly together, pooling individual strengths to achieve a profit within a period of five months. Second place went to The Herd from Thailand, whose product is a handy deck of Thai-English phrase cards targeted at tourists to Thailand. The third place recognition was shared by Athena Enterprise from Malaysia, who produced earth-friendly, handmade home accessories like hand-woven recycled-paper boxes, and 60m3 from Hong Kong, who aimed to promote Hong Kong's traditional culture through creatively designed playing cards and postcards. "Being a part of the JA Company of the Year Competition gave us a better understanding of free trade among countries, and different cultures. This gave us a great motivation to make a change in the world in the future," said Chariyeva Myahri, President of Cozy Care. In addition, SKIPCO from Thailand was recognized as winner of the FedEx Access Award, an award sponsored by FedEx to help participants understand the value and impact of global access. FedEx selected SKIPCO, whose product was an anti-bacterial hand gel, for demonstrating the most potential to create jobs, grow small business, expand global development and improve the environment. During the competition, 17 FedEx employees volunteered as facilitators to help students grasp the concept of global access. They also led the evaluation and selection of the FedEx Employees' Choice Award, recognizing iLand, a student company from Guam, for making the strongest overall impression among FedEx employees. "I am very proud of the drive and determination demonstrated by these student entrepreneurs. Their achievements are a testament to the power of Access in creating companies capable of enabling global growth, job creation, and environmental stewardship. The FedEx Access award recognizes the company that best embodies the impact of Access and is part of FedEx commitment to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs," said David L. Cunningham, Jr., president, FedEx Express Asia Pacific. "We are impressed with the quality of the student companies, especially since this is the first year of the JA Company of the Year Competition in the Asia Pacific. All entrants have shown great ingenuity, creativity, teamwork and communication skills. We believe the lessons learned during the competition will help our young leaders prepare for the challenges of the business world in the future and increase their chance for success," said Vivian Lau, Chief Executive Officer, Junior Achievement Hong Kong. Outside Asia Pacific, FedEx also sponsors the JA Company of the Year Competition in North America, Latin American and the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa. About FedEx Express About FedEx About JA Worldwide® (Junior Achievement) -30-
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