FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largest express transportation company, is proud to announce Mobile Intelligence Technologies from Zimbabwe as the winner of the FedEx Global Possibilities Award at this year’s Junior Achievement (JA) Africa Company of the Year Competition (COY).
This honour recognises Mobile Intelligence Technologies as the student company in the region that best embodies the principles of a business that creates global possibilities. JA student companies are businesses created by high school students that are enrolled in the JA Company Program within a school setting. Under this program, students identify challenges around them, come up with innovative ideas to solve them, and put their ideas into action by launching and operating a real business with other students, under the guidance of business professionals and mentors.
The competition, held from December 6-8 in Kigali, is the culmination of the annual JA Company Programme – an entrepreneur-development initiative where 30,000 student entrants learn the fundamentals of running a business. At least a thousand student companies compete at provincial and national levels for an opportunity to represent their country at a continental level, for Africa’s largest high school pitch competition.
The theme of this year’s competition was “Breaking Barriers”. For FedEx, a long-time sponsor of the COY competition, the theme especially resonates as the company connects people and possibilities through its vast logistics operation and networks.
More than 40 student entrepreneurs, representing 13 African countries, came together with individual hopes of winning and a common purpose of identifying and finding solutions to challenges within their respective communities.
“These young business leaders of tomorrow are an inspiration to us all,” said Taarek Hinedi, vice president of FedEx Express Middle East and Africa operations. “Their vision for a better future for the planet, along with their imagination and creativity, surpass any imaginable barriers.”
Since 60% of Africa’s population is under the age of 25[1], the youth hold great potential for the future of the continent. Thus, the FedEx Global Possibilities Award acknowledges the youth-led start-up with the greatest potential to drive innovation, connect to new markets, fuel community development, and act sustainably with social responsibility.
Meeting these criteria, Mobile Intelligence Technologies – a company founded eight months ago by Chuma Tapiwa Madungwe, Dzinavatonga Prosper, Tarirana Prince Marley, and Ruzive Anesu from Ndarama High School in Zimbabwe - has identified one of the biggest challenges facing the African educational system; a lack of access to lab equipment to perform chemistry experiments. The students discovered that approximately 76% of schools in their community do not have science labs, and therefore cannot comprehensively offer Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Mathematics (STEM) education. The students’ focus area was to ensure that every young person has access to practical science lessons and experiments.
The start-up’s solution to this challenge is to create a virtual chemistry lab that’s accessible via a mobile app called MI-Lab, and available in 12 languages. The app allows students to perform experiments, receive lab reports, and determine the results of the experiments, while also reducing the need for students to encounter any harmful chemicals. The app is also accessible for individuals with disabilities through voice activation and commands. It has already gone live in more than one African country and employs people from local communities.
“Empowering the youth to create opportunities through an entrepreneurial mindset is critical, both for their futures and the future of Africa’s economic development,” added Hinedi. “FedEx is committed to supporting the empowerment of these young entrepreneurs through our sponsorship of the JA Africa Company of the Year Competition.”
The overall winner of the JA Africa competition will also compete on the global stage and carry the hopes of the region with them.
“The standard of the entries this year was phenomenal. Congratulations once again to Mobile Intelligence Technologies and all the other award winners,” concluded Hinedi.
[1] http://ivint.org/south-africas-youth-population-unemployment-and-economic-growth-prospects/
about FedEx Corp.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenue of nearly $90 billion, the company offers integrated business solutions through operating companies competing collectively, operating collaboratively and innovating digitally as one FedEx. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 500,000 employees to remain focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. FedEx is committed to connecting people and possibilities around the world responsibly and resourcefully, with a goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2040. To learn more, please visit fedex.com/about.
about Junior Achievement (JA) Africa
As one of the Africa’s largest and most-impactful youth-serving NGOs, JA Africa delivers hands on, immersive learning in work readiness, financial health, entrepreneurship, sustainability, STEM, economics, citizenship, ethics, and more. JA Africa has a presence in 16 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and collectively we reach more than 900,000 youth in more than 3,000 schools each year. JA Africa Works in Burkina Faso, C?te d’Ivoire, DRC, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Learn more at
