2020

Congratulations to the Best Student Learning Companies!

Bulk dishwashing detergent, a digital compass for hunters to warn them of the approaching of other colleagues, an underwater light for anglers that lures fish at night, reflective vests for pets, multifunctional wooden furniture for space and resource saving – these are just some of the ideas of the young entrepreneurs who competed for the title of Latvia's best start-up company and the right to represent Latvia in the European finals of the student learning company competition to take place this July. JSC “Latvia’s State Forests” (LVM) congratulated the most socially responsible student learning company in supporting students' creativity and urging them to think sustainably.

“We have been cooperating with the Junior Achievement Latvia team for several years already, supporting young people in developing their entrepreneurial skills. Although the format of the event was changed this year, with only a part of the jury being present, this certainly did not interfere with its work. LVM has noticed that the responsibility and understanding of sustainability in student training companies is growing every year, choosing environmentally friendly materials, recycling raw materials, implementing residue-free production and similar initiatives. Also this year, among the finalists of the competition were such teams that took care of both sustainability and social responsibility,” says Renāte Ribaka, a member of the jury of the student learning company competition jury representing LVM.

Despite the constraints related to the emergency situation and distance learning, the majority or 63% of active student learning companies continued to successfully develop their business even during the spring. A total of more than 1 200 student learning companies were registered in the student learning company programme this year, and five primary and ten secondary school student learning companies participated in the finals.

“We produce multifunctional – innovative furniture that saves not only space but also resources: in the horizontal position it is a useful coffee table, which when put vertically turns into a standard-size chair. During the emergency, we adapted, continued to develop and improve our product, actively participating in social networks,” tells the representatives of the student learning company “Galtro” from the 10th grade of Riga French Lyceum that not only won the third place in the secondary school group, but also received the LVM award as the most socially responsible student learning company. The students have chosen wood for the production of their product, which is not only a natural, but also safe and pleasant material.

In order to continue their participation in the student learning company programme, a large number of students had to adapt their company to the circumstances of the emergency situation. For example, 46% of the student learning companies started working on business development in the Internet environment, 38% reviewed their product strategy in relation to the changing customer habits, and 38% became more active in their marketing activities.

“This is a time of opportunities. Students who have a real entrepreneurial spirit, who kept believing in their idea, did not give up and were able to adapt quickly to change. Despite the difficult teamwork during this time, as well as other challenges, such as organizing the company's operations and selling its products, about 40% of the active learning companies restructured their operations so that their work would not stop,” tells Jānis Krievāns, Chairman of the Board of Junior Achievement Latvia. “This is the very essence of the student learning company programme – to promote young people's entrepreneurial spirit: perseverance, determination, which will be useful for every graduate of the programme also in the future.”

The main prize – the right to represent Latvia in the finals of the best European learning companies in the secondary school group – was awarded to the company “Clean Clever”. The first place in the primary school group was granted to the company “Animal world”.

The event is organized by the largest educational organization in Latvia “Junior Achievement Latvia” (JA Latvia) and the Latvian Investment and Development Agency in cooperation with Swedbank. More information.