FEDEX Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp, gave 80 students from Petaling Jaya and Penang a hands-on opportunity to test their business and entrepreneurial skills at the recent 2014 Young Enterprise Junior Achievement (YEJA) Achievers’ Sales Fair.
The business novices from Matrix Enterprise of SMK Bandar Utama Damansara 3 in Petaling Jaya, and Bryture Enterprise of SMK Bukit Jambul in Penang, conceptualised, manufactured and marketed a range of trendy, handmade products to the public at Subang Parade in Petaling Jaya and First Avenue Mall in Penang.
Matrix Enterprise offered keepsake boxes made out of recycled books; hand- and spray-painted hipster art posters, and chic flower crowns made of synthetic flowers for teenage girls.
Based on a marketing survey on the popularity of accessories, Bryture Enterprise retailed handmade bracelets and necklaces as well as hand-drawn recyclable bags in Penang.
FedEx volunteers representing various functions of the company including sales, marketing, customer service, finance and operations, mentored the students.
“At FedEx, we have seen how educating and empowering young people with the right business knowledge and tools can help them own their future economic success,” said FedEx Express Malaysia and Brunei managing director Ramesh Kumar Singam.
“We hope this programme will help our students develop valuable skills in creativity, business acumen, teamwork and critical thinking as they encounter real world situations and make business decisions.”
The sales fair is a component of the nine-month Young Enterprise Junior Achievement Programme which ends in October.
Through the YE/JA programme, budding entrepreneurs, also known as Achievers, are given the opportunity to experience a full business life-cycle, from capitalisation to voluntary liquidation.
With a start-up capital of RM800, the Achievers create and manage their own companies as well as raise capital for their business through the sale of shares.
Each enterprise is required to operate a real corporate bank account.
At the end of the programme, each student company must submit a record of their finances for an independent audit.
This is the 14th year that FedEx has supported this programme in Malaysia.
First introduced in 1989, the YEJA programme is organised by the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and supported by the Ministry of Education.
Eight awards will be presented at the end of the programme for the best product, best annual report, best Achiever, best use of Information and Communications Technology, best company, best CSR, best marketing strategies, and best share growth.
