JA Asia Pacific Holds 2021 Company of the Year Competition

November 9, 2021

JA Asia Pacific held its annual regional Company of the Year competition this week. For the second year in the row, the regional competition was conducted virtually, with host JA Philippines pulling out all the stops to put on a knockout, show-stopping grand finale to top off the two-day event.

Day 1

The competition opened with greetings and messages from JA Asia Pacific CEO Maziar Sabet, JA Worldwide CEO Asheesh Advani, and JA Philippines Board President Gabriel Cui, followed by the Leadership and Career Forum for student companies. Later, students heard from regional alumni on a panel hosted by The Apprentice Asia winner Jonathan Yabut. Day 1 capped off with an introduction of the 18 student companies from 11 countries.

Meet the Teams

JA China – WOW, Changsha Yali High School
The WOW Vertical Desk Panel uses a clip and barrier to easy assembly without leaving marks, extending the life of a student’s desk and making life a little easier.

JA China – Soft, Chengdu Shude High School (Ningxia Campus)
Soft’s Baiyuan doll provides comfort in times of sadness and happiness in times of joy. The cotton doll has two pockets made from coins, one to fill up with troubles and one to fill with dreams.

JA Guam – Ginefsaga, various high schools
Ginefsaga creates decorative wood pieces that depict serene local beaches and majestic ocean scenes on the island of Guam.

JA Hong Kong, China – Confiar, International Christian Quality Music Secondary and Primary School
With a mission to end animal abuse and promote care of both humans and animals, Confiar sells multi-use towel sets and a “Stay Pawsitive” file folder.

JA Hong Kong, China – Unbounded, Po Leung Kuk Lee Shing Pik College
Unbounded sells a re-plastic umbrella and provides umbrella repair service to raise environmental awareness in teenagers.

JA India – Fabricreate Pvt. Ltd., Tagore International School, Vasar Vihar, New Delhi
Fabricreate provides sustainably made, quality home decor and utility products that promote corporate social responsibility.

JA India – Autosight, The Shri Ram School–Aravali
Autosight strives to make the roads of India safer with its lane enhancement system, a safety accessory that eliminates blind spots in heavy loading vehicles.

JA Indonesia (Prestasi Junior) – D’Eagle, Sma Karangturi Semarang
D’Eagle’s PlayIt! Is a board game made from wood and paper waste that promotes togetherness among friends and families and ultimately aims to reduce mental health problems.

JA Indonesia (Prestasi Junior) – Sevone, State High School 71 Jakarta
Sevone challenges plastic pollution by repurposing single-use plastic bags for its Simplastic, Compastic, P-Pouch, and Biodegradable Tee products.

JA Japan – Mahoroba, Fukusho
Mahoroba promotes environmental awareness and supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through the sale of reusable shopping bags, bracelets, straps, earrings, and aroma diffusers.

JA Korea – Olepina, Seoul International School and Chadwick International School
Olepina created Oil Catcher, an alternative, eco-friendly oil absorbent product made of pine trees to aid in environmental cleanup efforts in the event of an oil spill.

JA Malaysia – Prismawolves Enterprise, SMK Pusat Bandar Puchonr (1)
Prismawolves’ Turtal Metal Straw Keychain encourages people to take a stand against single-use plastics. Side products Tapir Buddy and Pet Charms raise awareness of animal cruelty and endangered animals.

JA Philippines – Herbuys Company, Our Lady of Peace, Antipolocity
Herbuys produces a natural, affordable shampoo bar, promoting the company’s mission to advocate for the environment.

JA Philippines – Dream Weavers, International Christian Academy
Dream Weavers dedicates itself to promoting the T’boli tribe of South Cotabato through the sale of its T’nalak travel essentials and other trinkets, including pouches, keychains, and passport holders.

JA Singapore – Scrapcap, Nexus International School Singapore
Scrapcap aims to reduce textile waste through the sale of baseball caps made of recycled school uniforms.

JA Singapore – Symptoms.SG, Temasek Polytechnic
Symptoms.SG promotes mental wellness through a card game. Decorated with hand-drawn artwork, each of the 105 cards highlights different symptoms, triggers, and support options for teenagers.

JA Thailand – Numnum, Bangkok Patana School
The Numnum plushie aims to bring comfort to all and a smile to every customer’s face.

JA Thailand – Klutch Co., Satit Kaset International Program
Klutch Co.’s simple, lightweight clutch is a multifunctional pencil case that also serves as a smartphone stand and compartment for notes and stationery.

Watch the opening ceremony on Facebook.

Day 2

The second day saw the competition heat up, as students had one minute to pitch their businesses to the panel of esteemed judges. Next, they stood for an interview with the judges, providing more information on their companies, and the judges narrowed down the list of team to the final 10:

Unbounded, JA Hong Kong, China
Fabricreate Pvt. Ltd., JA India
D’Eagle, JA Indonesia
Sevone, JA Indonesia
Olepina, JA Japan
Dream Weavers, JA Philippines
Scrapcap, JA Singapore
Symptoms.SG, JA Singapore
Numnum, JA Thailand
Klutch Co., JA Thailand

In addition to the competition, JA Asia Pacific and JA Philippines hosted the JA Leaders Summit, which was open to the public. The Summit featured Jonathan Yabut; Edward Lee, Chairman and Founder, COL Financial Group Inc.; Marc Fancy, Executive Director, Prudence Foundation; and Stephen Barnham, Global Head of Digital Health & Banca, Prudential PLC. Watch the JA Leaders Summit on Facebook.

The final ceremony was hosted by Sheena Lee Palad and Gianne Hinolan, with additional performances from Johann Enriquez, Neo Rivera, Felson Palad, and Sindlaw.