Student Company FIJI FERTILISER wins the Leadership Award at the Largest Student Entrepreneurship Competition in Europe

FIJI FERTILISER, a Student Company from the G C School Nicosia, represented Cyprus at the Company of the Year Competition organized by Junior Achievement Europe, which took place in Belgrade, Serbia between 16 and 19 July 2018.

Over 200 students, representing 39 student-teams, gathered in Belgrade to celebrate the top JA companies from across Europe. Last school year, the JA Company Programme counted over 340 000 participating students across 40 countries in Europe. Through the process of learning to run a company from top to bottom, the JA Company Programme students create and market real products and services. The success of the programme is largely down to the wide support from business volunteers, acting as mentors, offering expert advice to the students. Partnerships between education and business are essential to closing the gap between classroom theory and real-world challenges.

FIJI Fertiliser, and specifically the CEO of the company Demetris Konstantinou, was awarded the JA Alumni Leadership Award, which is presented to individuals demonstrating outstanding leadership skills affecting their team and their company. With this award, JA Alumni Europe wishes to recognise and honour the personal strength of the individuals in a successful team.

Demetris Konstantinou noted: “Being a CEO is not easy, it takes energy, time, effort and dedication. This is something I learned through out JA Company of the Year. Experiencing what is like to run a business and learn from it, is something that was crucial for the development of FIJI but with such a great team that I was delighted to work with, it was certain that FIJI would exceed our initial expectations. I am honored to have received a JA Alumni Leadership Award. This award has assured me that I have gained many skills and knowledge in this program and most importantly I feel that I haven’t let my team down”.

Eloiza Savvidou, JA Cyprus CEO noted, “Cypriot students have proved once more that they got the entrepreneurial talent and skills needed to excel at a European level competition. Apart from being awarded with the prestigious Leadership Award, their teamwork and professionalism attracted great feedback from the juries and JA Europe members alike. We are very proud of them.”

FIJI Fertiliser won this year’s Company of the Year Competition organized by JA Cyprus in April. The company produced an organic liquid fertiliser made using seaweed, an alternative to chemical fertilisers, while simultaneously cleaning the beaches of Cyprus.

JA Cyprus would like to thank the teachers of the student company FIJI Fertiliser, Mrs. Katerina Chalarampous and Mrs. Elena Paschali, as well as their mentor Mr. Lodian Naci from PwC.