Junior Achievement Company of the Year Awards 2026 at Nexus: Building Businesses, Ideas, and Confidence

From bold ideas to real products, polished pitches, and late nights spent problem-solving, the Junior Achievement Company of the Year Awards 2026 showcased exactly what happens when learners are given the opportunity to lead, create, and take risks.

This year, Nexus International School (Singapore) was proud to host the awards, once again welcoming student companies from schools across Singapore for a full day of presentations, judging, and celebration. This marked the 4th time Nexus has hosted the competition and the 11th consecutive year our learners have taken part in the Junior Achievement programme.

With 16 teams competing, this was the largest Company of the Year event to date, reflecting the growing strength of student entrepreneurship across Singapore. 

Across just 12 weeks, our learners showcased impressive innovation, resilience, and real-world business skills, from product development and financial management to leadership and teamwork.

Nexus learners stood out with PagePalette being recognised with the Best Company Report award, a testament to the depth of planning, reflection, and professionalism demonstrated throughout the programme. 

A Competition That Keeps Raising the Bar

Over the past eleven years, Nexus teams have consistently been recognised for excellence, earning multiple awards and being named Singapore Company of the Year three times, a clear reflection of Nexus’s commitment to enterprise education and authentic learning experiences.

This year’s competition was evaluated by an exceptionally strong panel of judges, offering learners the chance to present their companies to industry professionals from finance, investment, and start-up sectors:

• Sam Al-Schamma, Managing Director, Flight Experience Singapore
• Seventeen Hu, Venture Partner & Business Director, Trigger Asset Management
• Karen Tok, Advisor and Exit Founder
• Lyn Chua, VC Investor, VU Venture Partners
• Stefano Grasso, Founder & Senior Portfolio Manager, Enhanced Value Fund
• Audret Irawan, Founder & Director, Gummy Box

The judges provided rigorous feedback, challenging teams to defend their ideas, justify decisions, and think deeply about scalability, sustainability, and leadership.

Entrepreneurship at Nexus: Learning by Doing

At Nexus, entrepreneurship is not taught through theory alone. The Junior Achievement programme places learners directly in charge of real companies, where they experience the pressures and rewards of decision-making first-hand.

Led by Shoaib Raza, Director of Digital Learning and Entrepreneurship & Business and Economics Teacher, and Jim Bevan, Year Leader (Year 13) and Business and Economics Teacher, the programme has seen around 300 Nexus learners participate since the school first joined Junior Achievement 11 years ago. 

Throughout the programme, Nexus learners are supported by a group of external mentors from senior leadership, entrepreneurship, and technology sectors: Dean Bell, Natalia Poliakova, Mike Matthews, and Michel Borst. Collectively, they bring decades of experience across start-ups, deep technology, AI, cybersecurity, enterprise software, sales, and go-to-market strategy. Their involvement provides learners with invaluable real-world insight, industry perspective, and practical guidance, helping to bridge the gap between classroom learning and the realities of building and running a business.

Under their guidance, learners develop confidence, adaptability, and a strong understanding of how businesses operate in the real world.

Nexus Teams 2026

Nexus was represented by two ambitious learner companies this year: PagePalette and Cushy.

PagePalette

Winner: Best Company Report 2026

PagePalette captured attention with a creative, sustainability-driven approach to everyday stationery. Described as “Crocs, but a notebook”, the concept allows users to customise their notebooks using interchangeable 3D printed “PagePals”, encouraging self-expression and individuality.

What truly set PagePalette apart was execution. Every notebook and attachment was designed and produced by the learners themselves, using laser cutting and 3D printing. In partnership with Semula Asia, the team transformed recycled HDPE plastics into vibrant, one-of-a-kind notebooks, diverting bottles from landfills and giving waste a new purpose.

Julian, Year 12 learner and President of PagePalette, reflected on the scale of the challenge:

“As the president, my responsibility was to take the initiative and ensure consistent progress was made in developing PagePalette in accordance with our goals. Coordinating a 16-person company, each with different strengths and availability, was incredibly demanding.”

Through the process, Julian gained a deeper understanding of leadership:

“I realised that in this role, there was no one telling me what to do. I had to carve out my own path and bring everyone along with me.”

He also highlighted the impact of building a product from the ground up:

“From designing and prototyping to pitching and reporting to the judges, the team were with me every step of the way. Creating something new that people genuinely wanted to buy made all the hard work worthwhile.”

Cushy

Cushy focused on comfort and wellbeing, developing a portable, foldable seat cushion featuring a detachable heating and icing pouch for pain relief on the go. Their slogan, “Education, elevated,” captured the team’s ambition to improve everyday learning experiences through thoughtful design.

Ryan, Year 12 learner and President of Cushy, described the programme as transformative:

“The Junior Achievement programme was an invaluable opportunity to learn about the workings of a real start-up, teaching us lessons that no textbook ever could.”

He also reflected on the importance of team dynamics:

“One of our biggest challenges was learning to manage a team, not just the tasks.”

More Than a Competition

This year’s teams demonstrated creativity, determination, and professionalism, developing skills that will serve them well far beyond the classroom.

Congratulations to both PagePalette and Cushy on an outstanding year. Your hard work, ambition, and resilience were on full display.