6 Malaysian Students Emerge Victorious and Advance to FedEx/Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge

SELANGOR, July 5, 2019 – FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largest express transportation company, together with Junior Achievement (JA), have announced the six winners of the FedEx Express / Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge (FedEx / JA ITC) Malaysian Selections 2019. The winners will advance to the FedEx/JA ITC Regional Finals which will be held in Kuala Lumpur from August 18 to 22, 2019.

This year, the ten teams were shortlisted to present their market entry strategy plan (MESP) for a beauty product, with Indonesia as the target market. The students’ MESPs also highlighted their product’s unique value proposition, pricing strategies, marketing plans, market entry options, and sales and distribution channels.

The participants were also given the opportunity to experience being in a corporate setting, as they presented their business ideas to a distinguished panel of judges including SC Chong, Managing Director of FedEx Express Malaysia; Professor Roland Xavier, Professor at University Tun Abdul Razak and Tim Garland, Capital Markets Communications Consultant of TBWA Malaysia.

This year, the three winning teams are:

• Team M.S.S. Skin Care: Shamita Sheetal and Jodie Wong Jyen from SMK Convent Green Lane, developed M.S.S. Skin Care, a range of personalized halal skincare products aimed to cater to the various skin types and conditions through a quick face analysis via a QR code scan.
• Team Euphrates: Shveenita Alyza Kanapathy and Thivyashini Selvaseelan from SMK Bandar Utama Damansara 3, developed “The Re-Line Range”, a set of skincare products (consisting of the White Heaven Cleanser, Golden Honey Scrub, Dream Team Toner and Just-Chill Bag Mask) that incorporate traditional elements of the Indonesian culture. An emphasis on an all-organic product line, the products are packaged using bamboo sticks.
• Team Janus Mask: Mithun Balaji MG and Aditya Rajkumar from Global Indian International School, developed the Janus Mask, a biodegradable face mask that aims to address dry or oily skin types, which was identified to be a common issue faced by many Indonesians living in a tropical country. Made completely from natural products, Janus Mask is targeted at men and women aged between 25 to 54 years old.

The six winning students will represent Malaysia in a competition at the Regional Finals in Kuala Lumpur from August 18 to 22, 2019 with 54 counterparts from nine other Asia Pacific markets, namely Australia, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. These students were selected based on their impeccable market research and market entry plans, which also showcased their creativity, hard work and entrepreneurial skills in presenting their ideas and in entering a new market. In an effort to further promote cross-border collaboration, the finalists will also go through a random shuffle to form new teams consisting of participants from different countries.

“For 12 years, we have seen through this program that over 5,000 Malaysian students have shared ideas that highlight a deep understanding of business and international trade. Year after year, we continue to support this competition with one aim – to inspire, support and nurture today’s youth to take on the roles of tomorrow’s business leaders in Malaysia. It has been an honour playing a part in fostering their learning and I am sure that our teams will make us proud at the regional finals in Kuala Lumpur in August with their creativity and understanding of international trade,” said SC Chong, Managing Director, FedEx Express Malaysia.

JA Malaysia is delighted to continuously bring the FedEx Express / JA ITC program to the Malaysian students and impart entrepreneurial knowledge and international business concepts to them. By participating in this program, the students have shown us how much they have learned and it is clear from their competition submissions that every student who participated is already a winner in their own right. We look forward to enhancing the student experience in the Regional Finals,” said Stuart Dean, Chairman of JA Malaysia.

Through a series of intensive workshops that were held earlier in April this year, the participating students had the opportunity to learn about the different facets of entrepreneurship and international trade from a team of trainers. In addition to that, a total of 47 FedEx volunteers also provided mentorship to the students by sharing their knowledge and real-life experiences, as well as guiding them through the development of their product ideas and plans during the workshops.