Winners of the competition “business sketches” – pupil team from Kaunatas secondary school

On Saturday, December 7, Junior Achievement Latvia (IF Latvia) is reported to Swedbank, IF Latvia and “project banks” are winners of the business planning competition. The first place was won by the 11 th grade school team from Caroline High School, the second place was acquired by a pupil training company from Ogres 1 st High School, while the third – young people from Rezekne – are led BY Kaunatas secondary schools.
Three winners have been selected from the ten-year-old school learning companies (SONG) teams. These are determined by adding points in the semi-final to the votes of the collective investment platform “project bank” and the associated donation.
The first-place and Swedbank money prizes worth EUR 3 000 – 11 th grade students from Karsava High School – offer special ecological scraps for the face and body “Rosaella”. With his business idea, the new entrepreneurs “project bank” managed to attract more than 1000 EURO from investors. “The most difficult was the attraction of sponsors and votes in the final round of the competition – when they are to vote with their money, people are afraid. When there was a couple of days to win the winners and saw that voices and funding grow more slower than we wanted, we knew something had to be done! It would be easier for people to persuade each_other, so we went to the neighbour schools with their product presentation, and we showed them how to vote, and left!" says the winner of the competition team Charlotte Laurie Nagle, encouraging young entrepreneurs not to sit and wait for everything to happen, but go and do it.
By successfully developing the business idea of “Hide & Seek” clothing embroidery, Ogre 1 st High School's 12 th grade school team won second place and a $2 MILLION cash prize, attracting EUR 185 IN the crowd funding platform. In contrast, the peers from THE Kaunatas secondary school, “Titanium Nails”, which offers natural nail oil with a particularly convenient applicator, rank in third place and will win 1000 EUROS of money and 380 EURO from investors in the project bank.
Ideas that deserve investor recognition
It should also be noted that students of pupils who have managed to address investors and reach or exceed their own financial target in a collective investment platform that will allow funding for the development of PUPILS 'training company (s). Jelgava Spidegs “ERATO”, which offers a music service, “brings together musical talented young people and customers, attracted more than 1800 EURO. The Cēsis State Gymnasium“ Uukrūsis ”, which produces unique design mugs with elements of the game included therein, has acquired 350 EURO from investors.
“Participation in competitions is a great way to improve ourselves and their ambitions, which, irrespective of the place of competition, is a benefit for any participant. The participants of the business sketch competition also had the opportunity to rethink their business ideas from customers, partners and investors, in response to a variety of important issues in the process of building business plans. In addition, the finalists of the competition, publishing business ideas in the crowd funding platform“ Project Bank ”, were given the opportunity to verify the viability of their intention among customers by collecting both funding and votes. Such experience is very much closer to the real business environment, which is a significant benefit for the team of emerging entrepreneurs,” says the head of the Swedbank Finance Institute and the jury representative, Reinis Jansons.
There are both innovative technological solutions and cosmetics, design ideas and music services among the business ideas of the school companies that have entered the final. As reported above, the competition “business sketches” was able to participate in teams consisting of secondary school students and students from vocational secondary education institutions – IF Latvia's participating schools.
For additional information: Janis Krops,
Swedbank Media Relationship Manager
Tel.: 67444560, 26880381
janis.krops@swedbank.lv