The National Business Pitch Competition is an annual celebration of the ingenuity and achievements of high school entrepreneurs and innovators in Ghana. It is the culmination of JA Ghana’s company program (Link to page), where participating schools in the program come together to pitch their business ideas. The 3-day competition brings together some of Ghana’s second-cycle institutions’ brightest minds and creative talents to pitch their game-changing business ideas to a panel of judges. Students are challenged to develop business solutions in Four thematic areas, which are; Agriculture, Water sanitation and hygiene (WASH), Renewable Energy, and Health Technology.
Ghana faces a job scarcity issue, with only 10% of graduates finding employment within a year (According to ISSER). To address this, the program equips students with entrepreneurial skills, fostering problem-solving and innovation.
The Four (4) Stages of the Competition
Company Report
In advance of the competition, students submit their company reports, which summarizes the company’s business operations and reports.
Stage Pitches
Stage pitches present competitors the opportunity to talk about their businesses to a panel of judges drawn from the leadership of local and global organizations. Students outline the accomplishments and challenges of their businesses. JA makes every effort to elevate the level of expectation of the students each year.
Trade Booth
Here, students can demonstrate their products to the competition’s judges, answering questions about the need identification, product functionality, target markets, etc.
Board Room
The Board room experience mimics real-life situations where business performance is scrutinized. Judges ask any questions about the company and probe company leaders on their understanding of how and why the company performed as it did, lessons learned from the experience, and how these lessons might be applied in a new business context.