KIC and Mastercard Foundation have announced winners of the 2023 AgriTech Challenge Classic Finals at a pitch event that took place from the 18th to 19th December, 2023 in Accra.
From a total of 50 teams from across 10 regions of the country that participated in this year’s pitch competition after five months of training under the AgriTech Challenge Classic Programme, 20 teams have been announced as winners who will progress to the AgriTech Challenge Pro.
The 20 winning teams include Agricems, Agriquinns, Bunnybites, Cas-Tech Glue, DeliMush, Ecofibre Solutions, FEEP Fibertech, Greenhusk Innovation, Greenwood, Harvest Ease Innovators, Healthy Farmer, Hullsnovation, Husk Pack Ghana, NAYAD Foods, PaCo Paper, Rabbitton, Sunify Solardry Technology, SunRay, Tekcycle, and Zoyapel.
Progress onto the AgriTech Challenge Pro, the teams will be given US$2,000 to grow their Market Viable Product (MVP).
AgriTech challenge classic
The programme involves training and capacity-building workshops, market research tours to meet industry actors, entrepreneurship coaching and mentoring from the faculty advisors and technical teams.
The AgriTech teams receive constructive feedback from a panel of experts, who are referred to as Ideation Team members, to help shape their ideas.
Speaking about the impact of the programme, Executive Director of Kosmos Innovation Centre (KIC), Benjamin Gyan-Kesse, noted that his outfit and partners are committed to providing a transformational change journey for young people, to create job opportunities for them within the agricultural sector through entrepreneurship.
“Our programme portfolio not only addresses mindset change about agriculture but provides practical training, tools, network and resources for entrepreneurial development,” he added.
In his remarks, Programme Lead- Agribusiness for Mastercard Foundation, Gottfried Odamtten-Sowah, highlighted their dedication to empowering young people to access dignified and fulfilling jobs.
Through Mastercard Foundation’s partnership with KIC and the AgriTech Challenge Classic programme, young people are being provided with employment opportunities within the agribusiness sector.
The AgriTech challenge pro
The 20 teams will join another 20 start-ups earlier accepted into the 2024 AgriTech Pro team through applications. The 20 start-ups include 3Farmate Robotics; Aretha Forson; Bolstaar; Earl K Foods; Ebapreneur Solutions and: Farmercy Technologies.
others are FarmWallet; FeatheryCare; FemFarmLife; Fertiltech; FreshLine PHS; GreenHeart Se; GreenMatics; Grenopak; GuineaGenesis; HyfeBee; McHan Organic; MeSADA PCL; OrgaFert and; Rijona BBC.
The AgriTech Challenge Pro is a five-month accelerator programme to support young entrepreneurs to launch and grow commercially viable and scalable solutions to key problems in the agricultural sector. The programme is also provisioned to drive technology and innovation as a catalyst to enhancing productivity, improving yields, and creating more jobs within the agricultural sector.
Under KIC’s partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, which started in 2022, KIC has been able to scale up the AgriTech Challenge programme, bringing on board 10 partnering universities this year, from a total of five universities last year.
The 10 participating universities include the University of Ghana (UG), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University of Cape Coast (UCC), Bolgatanga Technical University (BTU), Takoradi Technical University (TTU) and Ho Technical University (HTU).
The rest are Koforidua Technical University (KTU), University of Development Studies (UDS), SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (UBIDS), and University of Energy and Natural Resource (UENR).
