By Merlina Hernando-Malipot Over 300 student-entrepreneurs from Metro Manila and neighboring provinces learned about international trade scenarios and were challenged to create business plans on the spot. Believing in investing in the entrepreneurial aspirations of young Filipinos, FedEx Express (FedEx), a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world's largest express transportation company, together with Junior Achievement (JA) Philippines, continued to empower Filipino youth to become well-rounded, globally-competitive, and problem-solving entrepreneurs through the 2019 FedEx/JA International Trade Challenge (ITC). The Manila workshop, which kicked off the program, was held at the Asian Institute of Management recently. Through its partnership with JA, an organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in the global economy, FedEx is able to mentor secondary school students and steer them towards becoming global entrepreneurs. At the recent FedEx JA International Trade Challenge workshop, students presented their plans to a panel of mentors which included FedEx Philippines Managing Director John Peterson. The annual FedEx/JA ITC program aims to instill an “entrepreneurial mindset among high school students and introduce them to the fundamentals of global trade.” FedEx Express employees, led by Peterson, also volunteered to mentor students about global trade, product distribution, promotion, and sales. They also helped cultivate traits to prepare the students for the Philippines ITC competition on June 24. A total of 10 teams from the ITC workshop will be shortlisted and present their market entry strategies in the local finals. During the activity, they will present their marketing plans, unique value proposition, pricing strategies, and sales and distribution channels to a distinguished panel of judges. Meanwhile, three teams of student entrepreneurs will be chosen to compete against students from across Asia Pacific in the FedEx/JA ITC regional finals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this August. At the Asia Pacific finals, finalists will be randomly grouped into new teams consisting of participants from different markets such as Australia, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, in order to promote cross-cultural collaboration. This environment is designed to encourage participants to share experiences from their home countries and discuss best practices. Since 2009, FedEx and JA have trained over 5,000 Filipino students to think beyond geographical borders and explore global trade.