The De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award recognizes outstanding young entrepreneurs within the JA network. The winning team from each regional JA Company Program competition (known as Company of the Year, Gen-E, Young Entrepreneurs Celebration, and National Student Leadership Summit) in Africa, Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, MENA, and the United States was automatically entered for the award.
Founded by tech-legend Ralph de la Vega, former President and CEO of AT&T Mobile and Business Solutions, in 2021, the De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award is the first global award for the JA Company program. The 2023 competition included teams from Greece (JA Europe), Ohio (Junior Achievement USA), UAE (INJAZ Al-Arab), Mexico (JA Americas), Guam (JA Asia Pacific), and Zimbabwe (JA Africa). Today, JA Worldwide CEO Asheesh Advani announced the winners via livestream.
Ultimately, JA Zimbabwe’s Hekima Inc. from Maranatha Christian School in Harare triumphed for its educational app Study Buddie. The team won a cash prize of US$15,000, as well as an entrepreneurship course from the institution of their choice. The five other JA student companies also won US $5,000 each, courtesy of the de la Vega Family Foundation.
A software development company, born out of the JA Company Program in Zimbabwe, Hekima Inc. specializes in education-specific technologies with an aim to make education accessible and available to all. The Study Buddie App allows users to time their studies, schedule their tasks, form study groups, and connect learners with teachers all on one app. The App also includes a stress relief game to help students refresh during study breaks. Users can download Study Buddie on Google Play and Apple App Store.
The Executive Director Allen Chinhanhu said, “JA Zimbabwe is exceptionally proud of Hekima Inc. The student company has shown immense resilience and tenacity to conquer numerous challenges synonymous with our continent to scoop the de la Vega global entrepreneurship award. This is a first for Zimbabwe and a first for Africa.”
About JA Worldwide
As one of the world’s largest and most-impactful youth-serving NGOs, JA Worldwide delivers hands on, immersive learning in work readiness, financial health, entrepreneurship, sustainability, STEM, economics, citizenship, ethics, and more. Reaching more than 12 million young people each year through over 400,000 teachers and business volunteers, JA Worldwide is one of few organizations with the scale, experience, and passion to build a boundless future for the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders. Visit us at jaworldwide.org and read alumni impact stories at jaworldwide.org/alumni.
About JA Africa
As one of the Africa’s largest and most-impactful youth-serving NGOs, JA Africa has a presence in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and collectively reaches over 300,000 youth in more than 3,000 schools each year. JA Africa works in Côte d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Visit ja-africa.org for details.
About JA Zimbabwe
JA Zimbabwe is an organization with a mission to economically empower Zimbabwe’s youth by bridging the gap between classroom education and the world of work. JA programs focus on the core content areas of financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship and provide experiential learning opportunities for young people to prepare for their professional lives in the 21st century. More than 800,000 young people, both in-school and out-of-school, rural and urban took part in JA programs in Zimbabwe since 1999. Visit www.jazimbabwe.org.zw for more details
Contact
Marylyne Milanzi
Marketing & Public Relations Officer, JA Zimbabwe
+263 776 968 033