On Saturday 14th May, The Junior Achievement Young Enterprise Malta Foundation held the annual HSBC Company Programme Finals. This year's coveted title of Company of the Year went to Starling, a team from St. Aloysius College, who will be representing Malta in the European Finals to be held in Lucerne, Switzerland in July. Starling will be competing with a product called 'Innovase' that completely redesigns the concept of a vase or pot by making use of recycled wine bottles.
The Finals night ceremony rewards students from post-secondary schools for their efforts during the 8 month programme that immerses participants in the world of business through the setting-up of their own mini-company, where they raise share capital, launch and market their idea, and distribute dividends.
This year 14 teams from the schools of De La Salle College, G. F. Abela Junior College, Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School, MCAST Institute of Business and Commerce, St. Aloysius College, St. Martin's College, and Verdala International participated. These were APPlause, Blurred, Bubble, Eight, Elevate, Gear, LiNKD, Mavericks, Renascido, Spark'd, Starling, TravelX, Troupe, and Unity.
Throughout the programme the teams were judged at various stages and apart from competing for the title of Company of the Year, they were also assessed on different business principles vying for the 9 signature awards generously sponsored by a number of leading local and international corporations.
The 2016 Finals saw these signature awards going to a spread of teams from a number of colleges. Recognising the overall creativity, innovation and quality of the teams' products and services provided the independent judging panel a tough time in deciding the winners.
This year the signature awards were awarded as follows:
The Best Business Plan Award supported by Deloitte - Won by Mavericks, St. Martin's College
The Best Implementation of Marketing & Sales Strategies Award supported by CIM - Won by Starling, St. Aloysius College
The Best HR & Operations Award supported by Farsons - Won by Spark'd, St. Aloysius College
The Social Enterprise Award supported by Microsoft - Won by Elevate, St. Aloysius College
The Best Presented Financial Statements Award supported by Deloitte - Won by Unity, St. Aloysius College
The Adpro Award for Best Quality System supported by Adpro Instruments Ltd. - Won by Bubble, Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School
The Best Presentation & Use of Communication Platforms supported by MCA - Won by Eight, St. Aloysius College
The Philip Bonnet Award for Perseverance was won by Renascido, St.Aloysius College