JA Malta
‘JA Malta, formerly Young Enterprise Malta, is a member nation of Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide, representing a global network of non-profit organisations sharing a common mission and purpose to be leaders in the field of enterprise education. JA Malta aims to spur economic development through improving young people’s understanding of business, economics, employability and entrepreneurship. JA Worldwide was listed as the no.4 most impactful NGO in the world, and the highest ranked active national organisation is JA Malta. JA Worldwide was nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, for the 4th consecutive year.’
Junior Achievement Malta at VIS
Verdala’s association with JA Malta goes back over 2 decades. Students in grade 11 participate in the national JA Student Company Competition; they design a product, launch and run a company whilst competing against student teams from local sixth forms.
VIS School teams enrolled in the JA Student Company Programme, have produced a wide variety of interesting products and achieved varying levels of success throughout; our trophy cabinet is testament to this!
In 2021, this entrepreneurial competition was embedded in our IB Career-related Programme under the guidance of Ms Naila Neymatova, and Verdala rapidly gained a reputation for being a school which promotes skills-based, real world learning and entrepreneurial spirit.
Student teams COLORI (2023), REMIND (2024) and MATTER (2025) won multiple awards at the national event. REMIND won the STUDENT COMPANY OF THE YEAR AWARD 2024 and all three teams, consecutively, represented Malta at the European Student Company Festival in Latvia; each came away with international awards too!
Verdala JA teams support local NGO’s by engaging with them for market research and by donating company profits. The Malta Dementia Society, Nature Trust and the Richmond Foundation recently benefited from the student’s community engagement initiatives, to the tune of 6,000 euro.
Verdala seeks to expand JA initiatives throughout all school sections. A number of staff are currently undertaking financial capabilities training through JA Malta, an essential area of skills development for young people.
VIS was honoured to receive the JA Europe Entrepreneurial School Award 2024 (TES), one of only 32 schools across Europe.
Verdala International School (VIS) has been recognised as one of Europe’s outstanding entrepreneurial schools, receiving the prestigious JA Europe The Entrepreneurial School (TES) Award for 2024.
VIS was nominated by JA Malta—the only school in the country to receive this honour—and was selected as one of only 32 award winners across Europe. This recognition highlights the success and importance of our entrepreneurial education, including the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme (IBCP) and the integral role of the JA Company Programme.
You can read the official announcement from JA Europe for more details: JA Europe's Top 32 Schools
The Entrepreneurial School Awards (TES Awards) showcase Europe’s best-in-class schools that equip youth with the right skill-set and mindset to thrive and succeed. Schools and teachers are the core of our work in impacting the next generation. Their influence on youth extends far beyond the classroom walls and the duration of a school year.
Salvatore Nigro, CEO JA Europe
STEMSTARZ, is the winner of the JA Product Launch Event
Verdala's student company team, STEMSTARZ, is the winner of the JA Product Launch Event and will be off to Latvia to represent Malta, at the JA Latvia International Student Company Festival, in March 2026. This is the fourth consecutive year that a Verdala student company team has represented Malta
This all-girl team impressed the judges with their understanding of STEM and their junior science kit, an introduction to the fun of science for youngsters.
Well done and Good Luck in Latvia!!