Ignium Named Student Company of the Year 2016

On Friday, 22 April, the 2016 Company of the Year Competition Finale and Award Ceremony, took place successfully at Royal Hall, in Nicosia. More than 400 people attended the event and were offered the opportunity to experience students’ innovative business ideas and the actualisation of their entrepreneurial spirit and creativity.

The Finale and Award Ceremony was the culmination of the efforts of 350 high school and vocational school students, aged 15-18, who created and ran their own company over the last seven months. During the event, 10 finalists – out of 42 student companies created under the 2016 Company Programme – pitched their entrepreneurial ideas to a panel of judges in an attempt to secure the title of “Company of the Year”.

Ignium, a student company composed of students from Kykkos B’ Lyceum, were appointed ’Company of the Year‘ 2016. The student company GREENPLAY, created by students from the American Academy Larnaca, was awarded the second place, while SPiRON, made up of students from Agios Georgios Lyceum, Lakatamia,  was awarded the third place. The winning team will represent Cyprus at the European Competition of JA Europe that will be held in Lucerne, Switzerland, between 25 and 28 July 2016.

Apart from the main awards, student-entrepreneurs were offered special signature awards for their excellence in important areas of entrepreneurial activities. Awards for the most innovative product/service, the best branding and communication strategy, the best-selling product/service and best company report, are some of the awards that were offered to JA Cyprus’ talented student entrepreneur.

At the opening of the event, Ms. Eloiza Savvidou, CEO of JA Cyprus, stressed that in today’s world we are witnessing a new revolution, the revolution of creativity and entrepreneurship. She noted that progress and evolution are not influenced by the socially or politically powerful, but rather by individuals who can generate creative ideas and those who possess the required skills to implement these ideas.

On behalf of the Minister of Education and Culture, the General Entrepreneurship Unit Coordinator, Mr. Constantinos Georgiou, underlined the Ministry’s intention to develop and foster Cyprus’ Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, by promoting entrepreneurship, creativity, innovation and team spirit through the introduction of effective programmes at all educational levels.

The Chairman of JA Cyprus, Mr. Andreas Papadopoulos, stressed that“student companies cultivate optimism about the future of Cyprus and their creative ideas and well-organized business plans were transformed into real products through teamwork. We are deeply proud of our student-entrepreneurs!”