On the 3rd of May, two of our Young Enterprise groups – OAKO and Simul – headed off to the County Hall to compete in the Oxfordshire County Finals!
Young Enterprise is a global scheme in which students form companies and compete for the award of Company of the Year.
Simul are focused on providing environmental and sustainable products at affordable prices. Many of you will have already seen or heard of their products; the card game named ‘Posh Doggy’ and the vintage clothes they up-cycle and re-sell. Over the course of the team’s journey, they have taken many opportunities in their stride in an effort to market their product to a wide audience.
On the other hand, OAKO are all about making a positive impact by being sustainable and educating children about endangered animals. They created recycled sea glass jewellery and their main product is a book called ‘Colour the Kingdom’. The book is designed by OAKO and has many interactive features to teach children about critically endangered animals on our planet. It has a unique augmented reality aspect and postcard features. The perforated edge on each card allows the buyer to rip out the coloured-in postcard and send it off. Using your device, you can scan the QR code, and the augmented reality animal will pop up!
After setting up their stalls amongst the other Young Enterprise teams in the county, the first event was the interview. Judges asked each group questions such as what their marketing strategy is, grilling them on their sustainability, how their business has progressed, and what their company’s plans are for the future. Both groups successfully passed the interview, and OAKO even surprised the judges with their augmented reality aspect and the fact that they designed and drew their own images! This was followed by the presentation segment, where each group had to present and promote their brand to the judges and fellow Young Enterprise companies. Though the competition was tough, both OAKO and Simul did a splendid job and both teams delivered a fantastic presentation which we were all very proud to witness.
Due to the incredible effort and hard work of both teams, we are delighted to say that Simul won the award for ‘Best Company Report’ and was also announced as the runner-up, and OAKO were crowned as winners and won the ‘Company of the Year’ award! What an excellent achievement for both teams, who will now progress to the Regional Finals!
