Young Entrepreneurs Take on Global Trade at the 20th FedEx/JA International Trade Challenge

August 20, 2026

For 20 years, the FedEx/JA International Trade Challenge (ITC) has brought young people together across borders to build entrepreneurial skills, learn about global trade, and tackle real-world business challenges. This week, 48 young entrepreneurs from across Asia Pacific gathered in Singapore for the 2026 regional finals, marking two decades of the program.

This year's finalists emerged from a field of more than 4,000 students across eight JA Asia Pacific locations: JA Hong Kong SAR–China, Prestasi Junior Indonesia, JA Japan, JA Korea, JA Malaysia, JA Philippines, JA Singapore, and JA Thailand.

At the finals, the students faced one of the ITC's defining challenges. Each finalist was paired with a student from another location, forming new cross-cultural teams with less than 48 hours to respond to a surprise business challenge and develop a market-entry strategy.

This year's challenge asked teams to develop a market-entry strategy for an innovative, sustainable product that repurposes used packaging materials into a solution that delivers economic, environmental, or social value in local communities, with Cambodia as the target market. Teams then pitched their ideas to a panel of entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Recycled Packaging and Practical Solutions

Team Ascent—Farra Santoso of Indonesia and Harry Jang of Korea—took home first place for EcoShield, a lightweight thermal shield made from recycled industrial packaging. Designed for Cambodia's hot climate, the solution combines reflective and insulated layers to reduce heat entering existing buildings without electricity, with the goal of reducing factory energy costs, protecting workers from heat, and diverting waste from the environment.

Two teams were named runners-up. Team Baksei—Masato Hirozane of Japan and Sara Nileshkumar Jasani of Malaysia—won second place for Terracell, which transforms discarded soft-plastic packaging into flood-resilient, permeable tiles. Team Ventra—Minette H. Cabaluna of the Philippines and Rayden Cleverson Suhardi of Indonesia—received third place for its modular cooling panel made from recycled plastic waste that reduces heat inside buildings without electricity.

For Farra and Harry, the experience extended well beyond developing their winning idea: "Working with teammates from different markets challenged us to think beyond our own perspectives and develop solutions that could succeed on a global scale. Throughout the competition, we learned how international trade, sustainability, technology, and cultural understanding come together to solve real business challenges."

Learning Across Borders

The 2026 competition also marked a milestone for a program that has reached more than 54,000 students across Asia Pacific. Through classroom learning, entrepreneurship education, and hands-on international business challenges, ITC helps young people develop practical skills in business, economics, global trade, teamwork, and problem-solving.

Those skills come into sharp focus at the regional finals. Participants must think critically, adapt quickly, communicate clearly, and collaborate with someone from a different culture as they move from a newly revealed challenge to a finished business strategy.

"As we celebrate the 20th year of the FedEx/JA International Trade Challenge, we are proud of the lasting impact the program has had on thousands of young people across Asia Pacific," said Salil Chari, President, Asia Pacific, FedEx. "What began as an initiative to introduce students to international trade has evolved into a platform that develops entrepreneurial thinking, cross-cultural collaboration, and real-world problem-solving skills."

The relationship between FedEx and JA spans more than four decades. Today, FedEx supports regional entrepreneurship competitions across all six JA regions and works with JA Asia Pacific to present the annual ITC. The anniversary year also created an opportunity to look beyond the competition and hear directly from young people across the region. At the opening ceremony on August 17, FedEx and JA Asia Pacific launched Shaping Tomorrow's Workforce: Asia Pacific Youth Insights, a regional report examining how young people are preparing for a changing global economy.

The report gathered more than 4,000 responses from young people ages 15 to 22 across 10 Asia Pacific markets: China, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It examines four areas of future readiness: education-to-work alignment, entrepreneurial capability, global trade awareness, and preparedness for AI-driven workplaces.

What's next for the 2026 winners?

For the winning students, the learning continues after Singapore. The 2026 Asia Pacific winners will have the opportunity to visit FedEx operational facilities in their respective markets and engage directly with FedEx team members, giving them a closer look at logistics, supply-chain management, and international trade.

As the International Trade Challenge enters its third decade, this year's finalists demonstrated what has remained at the center of the program: young people learning by doing, working across cultures, and applying entrepreneurial thinking to challenges that reach far beyond the classroom.

“These winners, and indeed all the 48 finalists, represent the very best of the impact that the FedEx/JA International Trade Challenge was designed to achieve: young people with bold ideas, the courage to collaborate across cultures, and the ability to turn classroom learning into real-world business solutions,” said Vivek Kumar, President and Chief Executive Officer of JA Asia Pacific.