Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio has announced the upcoming JA Business Challenge on Friday, March 11. The University of Akron will host the JA Business Challenge, from 7:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at the Gary and Karen Taylor Institute for Direct Marketing located on the fifth floor of the Polsky Building.

Twenty-one student teams from area high schools including: Archbishop Hoban, Buckeye, Copley, Coshocton Christian, Highland, Hudson, Stow, Waterloo, Wooster, East and Cuyahoga Falls will compete in the 2011 JA Business Challenge. Using JA Titan, an online business educational program, teams will have the opportunity to create, manage, and operate their own virtual businesses.

By pairing each team with an area business advisor, students are able to see how the principles they learn during the JA Business Challenge are applicable in the real world. During the virtual competition, students will experience how success or failure of a business depends on how well they manage key decisions such as pricing, marketing strategies, and R&D investments. Through this students come to a better understanding of the competitive nature of the free enterprise system.

Participants in the JA Business Challenge will also have the opportunity to hear from the keynote speaker, Ray Leach, CEO of Jumpstart Inc. Leach is a national thought leader on entrepreneurship and innovation and is at the forefront of affecting economic change both in Northeast Ohio and nationally. An address will also be given by special guest speaker Jim Sage, vice president of information technology and CIO of the University of Akron. With more than 30 years of progressive experience, Sage is a respected member of the local nonprofit community.

Winning teams will have the chance to receive both cash and scholarship prizes. The overall winner of the JA Business Challenge will have the privilege of advancing to the JA Titan US Virtual Competition this April to compete for the title of national champion.