The Kofi Annan Enterprise Hub for Agricultural Innovation (KAEHAI) at the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), University of Ghana (UG), in collaboration with KGL Foundation, has held its Pitch Day event for 20 students drawn from various departments of the School of Agriculture –University of Ghana.
The contest is aimed at nurturing the sustainable development of seed businesses toward food, nutrition and economic livelihood security. The students, who underwent comprehensive entrepreneurship training, were from the Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, Crop Science and Seed Science as well as Technology programmes under the university’s School of Agriculture.
The five-year entrepreneurship training and incubator programme is to address the youth bulge and unemployment by bringing together like-minded individuals from both the private and public sectors to provide training and support to students while helping them become successful agro-entrepreneurs to drive innovation and new product development for agricultural transformation in Ghana.
After pitching their ideas to a panel of judges who assessed them in accordance with the evaluation criteria based on their performances, a student start-up group called SeedXpert Innovation – with a business plan to produce and provide Ghanaian farmers with hybrid tomato seeds that deliver optimal performance through commitment to research and development – emerged the best group.
SeedSol Company Limited placed second, pitching with a business plan to provide farmers in the informal sector with a hybrid seeds of maize and soya sourced from top producing companies so that they can produce all year round and increase their yields.
In third place was Global Seed Tech group, who pitched with an idea to commercialise yam seed production and distribution to smallholder farmers, followed by Vegnovation Seed Centre group who placed fourth with a business plan to locally produce and provide farmers with high yielding pepper seed – an intervention the group believes will gradually put a stop to its importation.
Each team received US$10,000, courtesy KGL Foundation, to help them set up their businesses while all the trainees were awarded with certificates of participation.
Dr. Daniel K. Dzidzienyo, Deputy Centre Leader, Senior Lecturer and Coordinator for Research at WACCI, noted that the event marked the culmination of weeks of hard work.
As part of the programme, the participants underwent a rigorous 10-month long incubation, refining their innovative ideas while being guided by seasoned mentors and collaborating with fellow entrepreneurs who shared the same passion for innovation and growth.
Apart from learning about the intricacies of the seed industry, the programme also provided them with an opportunity to hone their skills in market analysis, business modelling and effective communication.
While encouraging the trainees to embrace the moment with confidence and enthusiasm, he expressed gratitude to KGL Foundation for its generous financial support and commitment toward empowering the next generation of business leaders and innovators.
Dr. Dzidzienyo further thanked the judges for their time, expertise and commitment to nurturing the entrepreneurs.
Jereme Keren Agyemang, Programme Manager of KAEHAI at WACCI, noted that a similar Pitch Day event was organised during the incubation period to give the trainees the opportunity to pitch their business ideas and interact with potential investors in hopes of securing additional resources for their start-ups.
She envisaged that by the end of the project, a minimum of 20 successful seed businesses will be established, leading to more employment opportunities for the youth.
Nana Adwoa Agyemang, a member of the winning team, in an interview with the B&FT, underscored the importance of the US$10,000 seed capital awarded to the team, saying: “Getting such a substantial amount of money to start up our business is a big deal for us. As students of agriculture science, much of what we learn or are taught is theoretically-based as opposed to practical. This seed capital will enable us to implement what we learned in class on the field”.
While admitting that preparing toward the programme was very tough as team members had to commit their time and effort – reshaping the idea among other things, she said its feasibility kept the team working harder.
Desmond Agbleke, also a member of the team, said although a lot of start-ups begin on a good note, most end up failing due to poor planning, execution and sustenance. “We will take our time to plan well and execute our idea flawlessly and this means that it will take us a bit of a time to start operating fully,” he added.
He appealed to the government and other funding agencies to come on board and support the project financially, saying it will end up benefitting the whole nation and ensuring food security when implemented. “We still need money because as students, we do not have the capital.
The Kofi Annan Enterprise Hub for Agricultural Innovation (KAEHAI) was established by the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) in 2019 as part of efforts to expand its scope of activities to include agricultural innovation and entrepreneurship.
