The annual closing celebration of the Company Program by Junior Achievement Iceland (JA Iceland) (I. Fyrirtækjasmiðja Ungra frumkvöðla - JA Icland) took place at Arion Bank headquarters on Tuesday, April 28. A total of 40 companies from 17 upper secondary schools were selected from a group of 150 companies founded by 620 students during the semester to compete in the 2026 finals.
The company Þekktu landið! (“Know Your Country!”) was named Company of the Year 2026. The company produces an educational and entertaining board game in which players identify the locations of well-known places around Iceland. The aim of the game is to combine entertainment and education, allowing players to learn more about their country while having fun.
The company is owned and operated by five students from Verzlunarskóli Íslands : Petra Björk Valdimarsdóttir, Thelma Kristbjörg Bæringsdóttir, Hera Björt Aðalsteinsdóttir, Tinna Björg Jóhannsdóttir, and Hanna Falksdóttir Krüger.
Þekktu landið! will represent Iceland at the European entrepreneurship competition GEN_E 2026, which will take place in Riga, Latvia, from July 7–10. The Icelandic innovation fund Kría awarded the winning team a grant of ISK 300,000 to support their participation in the competition.
Around 400,000 students participated in the competition across 40 European countries, with one team from each country selected to compete for the title “Junior Achievement Company of the Year – GEN_E 2026”.
Þór Sigfússon, CEO of the Iceland Ocean Cluster, and Guðfinna Helgadóttir, Operations Manager in the Corporate Banking Division at Arion Bank, presented awards in the following categories:
1st Place – Company of the Year 2026
Þekktu landið! – Verzlunarskóli Íslands
2nd Place
Grásíða – Commercial College of Iceland
(Receives a trip to the Arctic Youth Championship in Tromsø, May 18–21)
3rd Place
Eyjakonfekt – Upper Secondary School of Vestmannaeyjar
(Receives a trip to the Arctic Youth Championship in Tromsø, May 18–21)
Most Original Sales Booth
Hlýja – Fjölbrautaskólinn í Garðabæ
Strongest Sales Performance – Smáralind
Blær – Menntaskólinn við Sund
Most Interesting Innovation
Norður Rækja – Verkmenntaskólinn á Akureyri
Social Innovation Award
Hugljómi – Verzlunarskóli Íslands
Most Interesting Financial Solution
Framtak – Tækniskólinn
Food Company of the Year
Krílabiti – Fjölbrautaskólinn í Garðabæ
Best Design
Sjávardjásn – Menntaskólinn við Sund
Most Interesting Technological Innovation
Brauðbox – Tækniskólinn
Most Environmentally Friendly Solution
Land – Verzlunarskóli Íslands
Best Ocean Business
HafBit – Fjölbrautaskólinn í Garðabæ
We congratulate these talented and creative young entrepreneurs on their achievements, as well as everyone who participated in the JA Iceland Company Program 2026. It will be exciting to follow their journeys in the future.
