Team Eclipse pose on stage

ECLIPSE takes third place in Junior Achievement Isle of Man

Junior Achievement Isle of Man is the Island’s leading educational charity that supports young people with their transition from education to the workplace. Junior Achievement provides students with the relevant knowledge and necessary skills to prepare them for the next chapter, through helping students learn about how the world of business works, conducting business in a sustainable and ethical manner and some practical tips on how to effectively manage money. It shows them how they can translate the skills they have learnt at school into the workplace, in hope to boost their confidence and self-esteem.

The charity offers a series of programmes that take place across a range of schools in the community, an example is the ‘JA Student Company of the Year’. During the last 10 months, over 100 students have been given the challenge to set up their own business as part of the Junior Achievement Company Programme supported by HSBC Channel Islands & Isle of Man. The competition encourages young people to develop their entrepreneurial skills and conduct business decisions.

Our CEO at Affinity Group, Andy Morgan is a mentor for Junior Achievement and his team took place in the ‘JA Student Company of the Year’ Competition where they achieved third place with their new business venture titled ‘Eclipse’. Eclipse is a sustainable business that produces eco-friendly phone cases. The team represented their environmental ethos by also packaging their products in ecological materials, recycled paper bags with personalised stickers. The team demonstrated a positive approach to sustainable and ethical business, with research stating that ‘more than 400 million pounds of plastic is wasted making phone cases every year’ supporting their new product launch.

Eclipse promoted their brand across various social media channels such as Instagram and Facebook, uploading professional videos of their phone cases and creative photographs such as taking some unique shots amongst colourful flowers, demonstrating their eco-friendly brand and their positive relationship with nature. They also took some photographs at local beaches whilst picking up litter, reinforcing their stance on the environment. The team showed great initiative to raise brand awareness in the local community too, through various fundraising events such as singing in the high-street and selling their products in a local phone shop.

Well done to Eclipse and all the teams that took part across the Isle of Man for setting up successful businesses and showcasing fantastic entrepreneurial skills.