Winners of the FedEx Express/JA International Trade Challenge 2020-21 Asia Pacific Finals.
HONG KONG: FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX) and one of the world’s largest express transportation companies, together with Junior Achievement (JA) Asia Pacific, announced the student winners of the 2020-2021 edition of its annualFedEx Express/JA International Trade Challenge (ITC) Asia Pacific Competition.
The students presented their ideas during three days of intense competition in front of a panel of the region’s business leaders.
This year, student teams of two were tasked with creating a market entry strategy for a mental wellbeing product in South Africa.
The winning team was The Breakfast Club comprising Chloe Jazzy Lau from Hong Kong SAR and Aljo Benedicto from the Philippines for their idea to create a biometrics sensor powered by a smart app to detect anxiety attacks.
The winners beat 52 high school student finalists representing nine Asia Pacific markets (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam) competing in the event.
The FedEx / JA ITC competition was held entirely virtually for the first time in its 14-year history due to the ongoing pandemic.
The finalists had already won through local market competitions fending off more than 2,900 other aspiring student innovators.
“We are both honored to be named the winners of the competition. It’s so exciting! Every stage of the competition has been a fantastic challenge for us, especially in the finals. All of the ideas were so strong and we learnt volumes from this experience,” said The Breakfast Club team members.
“We really feel inspired to follow a career in business right now.”
Team Lumos comprising Sakthivell Ahrumugam from Singapore and Chaeyoon Park from South Korea were named first runners-up for their idea of a smart-bike that helps track the user’s mental wellbeing.
The Viennese Medicos comprising Raine Santiago Nakpil from the Philippines and Theethad Thipsoda from Thailand were second runners-up.
Their idea was a smart lamp with a sleep monitoring function.
“The creativity and enthusiasm that the students have shown during the competition is truly inspiring. Each team demonstrated innovative thinking to solving real world business challenges all of which are directly applicable to the post-Covid world,”
“As a supporter of youth entrepreneurship and a proponent of small businesses in Asia Pacific, we believe that empowering the next generation will help the region prepare for what’s next and help bring the global marketplace to our doorstep,” said Kawal Preet, president, Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region, FedEx Express.
“I am very grateful that in the face of a global pandemic we were able to once again provide a stage for our students and complete another very successful iteration of the ITC competition, doing so virtually for the first time ever.”
The FedEx Express /JA International Trade Challenge program is jointly organised by FedEx Express and JA Asia Pacific, a member of JA Worldwide.
In addition to supporting young entrepreneurs through JA ITC, FedEx Express is an advocate for and supporter of small-and-medium-enterprises (SMEs) around the Asia Pacific region.
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