The journey of Peniel Obeng, from a small coastal town in Ghana to the continental stage in Kigali to a full scholarship at African Leadership University
Peniel Obeng grew up in a coastal community in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. “Home was manageable growing up,” he says. “I lived among a small, close circle of people.”
He attended Adonten Senior High School in the hills of Aburi, in Ghana’s Eastern Region. Like many students across the country, he had one clear goal ahead of him: successfully complete high school and enroll in the university.
Then the JA Company Program opened a door he didn’t know existed.
Building Something Real
In the JA Company Program, young people start and run a real business, from idea to product to pitch. Peniel’s team founded AID Electronics. They noticed that many people eat cold food at work and school because they don’t have access to a microwave or any way to heat their meals. Their solution was a portable electronic lunch bag that heats food safely in minutes, one that people could carry anywhere.
For Peniel, the experience was unlike anything he had done before. “This was the first time I’d ever been introduced to building an actual solution to a problem,” he says. “I’ve always wanted to be part of something new and big.”
The First Time
As exams drew closer, the pressure grew. The business still needed work, and the team was stretched thin. At one point, the whole group hit a low. Their energy dropped, and stepping away would have been the easy choice.
What kept the team together was their facilitator, Mr. Asiedu. He kept them moving, in Peniel’s words, “almost every single time.” And for a student who had never joined a club, the Company Program offered something he hadn’t found anywhere else.
Mr Asare Asiedu, Teacher and Company Program Facilitator at Adonten Senior High School
“I’d never joined a club before, but JA felt like the club I belonged in,” he says. “Building actual solutions and pitching to a panel made too much sense to me. That’s what made me stay.”
The team stayed, and it paid off. In 2023, they traveled to Kigali, Rwanda, and won the JA Africa Company of the Year Competition, the top student business award on the continent.
“It was life-changing,” Peniel says.
“Representing the whole of Africa at that level made me realize how far I’d come: from being a random science-class student waiting to write WASSCE, to representing a continent globally. That moment has stayed with me ever since.”
The experience changed how he saw himself. “I realized I could do more than what I knew from school,” he says. “I wasn’t limited to that.”
The Second Time
Winning in Kigali was not the end of the story. The harder test came after.
The team went on to represent Africa at the JA Worldwide Global Entrepreneurship Awards. This time, they did not win. Peniel returned home to Ghana with a big question: what comes next?
He applied to two of Ghana’s leading universities. However, he was not offered the programs he wanted.
Peniel reached out to Simi Nwogugu, CEO of JA Africa to share his admission challenges. She suggested African Leadership University (ALU), which JA had introduced to the students during the competition in Kigali, and encouraged him to apply. Peniel did. He received a grant, but it wasn’t enough to cover the remaining fees, so he couldn’t take up his place.
What followed was a long season of uncertainty. “It was a long stretch of uncertainty: applying, getting turned down, applying again, without knowing if any of it would work out,” he says. “The hardest part was not knowing and having to keep showing up anyway without proof that it would pay off.”
Peniel decided to delay his studies. With Simi’s encouragement, he took a job and began saving money toward the fees. That season taught him a lesson he still carries. “People become more willing to help you when they see you’re already helping yourself,” he says.
He applied to ALU again and was admitted, this time with no financial aid at all. Instead of stopping, he appealed the decision. Through every step, he kept sending Simi updates, just as she had asked him to.
“She never stopped encouraging me,” Peniel says. “If anything, she’s the one who taught me persistence.”
One Friday Afternoon
The answer came on a Friday afternoon. Peniel was heading home after collecting a police report, a document ALU required, even though he wasn’t sure he would make it. Then the email arrived. His appeal was successful: a full scholarship.
“Giving up is such a damaging thing to do, really,” he says. “You never know when you’re just a step away. My entire day was made after I saw the email.”
Looking back, he sees the same pattern that carried his team through the Company Program. “There was a time when the whole team felt stuck, but we didn’t stop,” he says.
“If you keep showing up, you don’t give the results a chance to stay the same.”
Missions, Not Majors
Today, Peniel is a student at African Leadership University, where learners pursue missions instead of majors and work on real-world projects, both individually and in teams.
“It’s like a continuation of what JA started,” he says.
In His Own Words
Peniel has a message for every teacher, coach, and facilitator:
“There are students like me who just need someone to report to, someone to keep them in check, because giving up is so easy.”
For young people in Ghana, and across Africa, who feel like giving up right now:
“Persist like you have control over all outcomes; you might just be one step closer. Also, push commitment to a hundred percent for vital matters.”
And to JA Africa, and everyone who stood with him along the way:
“Your Company Program isn’t just about business pitches; it teaches resilience, ownership, and connects students to the right opportunities. When students understand that vision, life gets easier. When facilitators understand it, they change lives. Thank you for positively impacting my life.”
Be Part of the Next Story
Each year, the JA Company Program reaches about 10,000 secondary school students across Africa, equipping them with lifelong skills and mindsets.
Behind every Peniel stands a funding partner, facilitator, coach, or mentor who refused to let them stop. Across Africa, young people are ready to build, lead, and create a world of possibilities. They need people who will keep showing up for them.
Volunteer as a facilitator, partner with JA Africa, or bring the JA Company Program to your school. Learn more at www.ja-africa.org.
