Junior Achievement is a club and at the same time a company that aims at educating and inspiring young people to value free enterprise, understand business and economics and be workforce ready.
As a club, it organizes weekly seminars, talks, club meetings and discussions on various topics such as management, the stock exchange, administration, marketing, production, personnel management, demand and supply etc.
As a company, Junior Achievement seeks to equip students with practical business skills. The company is run by an executive body made up of students and its main source of capital is by floating shares mainly to fellow students and also to teachers who may be interested. The proceeds from the shares are used as initial capital. The company engages in any feasible and productive business venture with other institutions that would be lucrative and enable the shareholders receive a good return for their investment in the form of dividends. In order to give each batch of executives the chance to experience the full lifespan of a company, the company is liquidated at the end of every academic year. This cycle continues annually.
I was voted Board Chairman of the company in my third year and my major functions were to preside at all executive meetings and to mediate between the company and its shareholders. I did this by holding periodic meetings with the shareholders and to tell them the progress of the company as far as their shares were concerned. |
