… the story of FreshLine Post Harvest Solutions
In a bustling agricultural landscape where food security and sustainable farming are ongoing concerns for Ghana, some individuals are stepping up to provide innovative solutions.
Abigail Mawutor Boadu, an entrepreneur and mother of two, is one such individual. Her company, FreshLine Post Harvest Solutions Ltd., is making waves in the tomato farming sector by tackling one of the biggest challenges faced by smallholder farmer – post-harvest losses.
In just a few years, Abigail’s dedication and passion have brought much-needed change to Akomadan – a town known for its tomato farming – and beyond.
Read on as she shares her journey with this week’s Inspiring Startups!
Background
Abigail’s journey into entrepreneurship wasn’t a direct path. Born and raised in Ghana, she completed her pre-tertiary education at Kwahu and Accra, focusing on General Science in secondary school. She holds a degree in Management and Entrepreneurship from Blue Oceans Management Academy.
She also trained as a ground service agent under International Air Transport Association (IATA) Canada. Her diverse work experience in both hospitality and the food and beverage industry provided her with an understanding of food processing and management systems, unknowingly laying the foundation for what would become FreshLine.
Motivation
Abigail’s passion for entrepreneurship was ignited during a visit to her husband’s hometown, Akomadan, in 2019 when she witnessed first-hand the scale of post-harvest losses in tomato farming. What she saw shocked her – piles of tomatoes discarded along roads, at market centres and even in front of homes.
The reason? Buyers only wanted the freshest produce, leaving cracked, soft or overripe tomatoes to rot. “This situation is something that, unless seen and experienced first-hand, one would never know happens,” she recalls. It was at that moment she knew she had to find a solution.
A personal connection to change
Her entrepreneurial spirit is driven not just by the desire to build a business, but also a deep commitment to providing practical solutions for real-world problems. Her husband had often spoken about the need to address inefficiencies in tomato farming at his hometown, but it wasn’t until Abigail saw the waste with her own eyes that she realised the enormity of the challenge.
“It looked scarier than how my husband described it,” she said. She immediately began researching how cold storage technology could extend the shelf-life of tomatoes and reduce waste. With her background in food and beverage management, she knew this was a viable solution.
In 2021, Abigail and her team built their first cold-room in Akomadan with a capacity of 4.7 metric tonnes. While this facility helped address the immediate problem, it was clear that more needed to be done to make a lasting impact.
Progress
In June 2022, the team launched Akoma Tomato Powder – a shelf-stable, processed tomato product. Unlike traditional tomato pastes, Akoma Tomato Powder contains no additives, preservatives or chemicals.
Products and uniqueness
The flagship product of FreshLine is Akoma Tomato Powder, a 100 percent natural tomato product made from tomatoes that would otherwise go to waste. The powder is free from preservatives, additives and chemicals, making it a healthy option for consumers.
What sets Akoma Tomato Powder apart from its competitors is its purity and alignment with health-conscious consumer trends. Abigail is keen on maintaining maintaining the quality of her product, despite it being more expensive than conventional tomato pastes – Akoma Tomato Powder is priced 45 percent higher than typical pastes, but its benefits make it worth the investment.
FreshLine Post Harvest Solutions offers more than just tomato powder. The company provides mobile, solar-powered post-harvest management solutions, including cold-storage, packaging, processing and market linkage services.
These services are especially valuable to smallholder farmers in rural areas, where access to such infrastructure is often limited. By decentralising these critical post-harvest services, FreshLine is improving the efficiency and profitability of horticultural farming.
Co-founder
In March 2022 Wisdom Boadu – a co-founder – joined FreshLine Post Harvest Solutions, serving as Operations and Innovations Lead. With a background in Post-Harvest Management and four years of industry experience, Wisdom has played a crucial role in optimising the company’s processes and expanding its product offerings.
His expertise in post-harvest handling complements Abigail’s vision, ensuring the company’s solutions are both practical and innovative.
Together, they are driving FreshLine’s mission forward: aligning their work with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) by reducing food waste; SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) through creating job opportunities in rural communities; SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) by promoting sustainable food production; and SDG 13 (Climate Action) by utilising solar-powered technology and reducing greenhouse gas emissions linked to post-harvest losses.
Recognitions
FreshLine’s Akoma Tomato Powder was recently recognised for its sustainability and impact potential, earning second place in the Presidential Pitch competition. It also emerged as a winner in the Standard Chartered Women in Technology programme and has received accolades from the Kosmos Innovation Centre and MasterCard Foundation.
These recognitions have come with significant financial support, enabling FreshLine to continue advancing its technology and expanding its product offerings.
Vision
Looking ahead, Abigail envisions FreshLine becoming a household name in Ghana’s post-harvest sector. She aims to scale the company’s solutions to address post-harvest losses in other horticultural products such as pepper and onion, which face challenges similar to tomatoes.
In the next five years, she hopes Akoma Tomato Powder will be available in every region of Ghana and that FreshLine will play a leading role in reducing post-harvest losses across the country.
Financial and market entry struggles
Like most start-ups, FreshLine faces significant challenges as financing operations remain a hurdle, as does market entry. Competing against multinational companies with deep pockets and established market presence is tough, especially when the price of Akoma Tomato Powder is higher than imported alternatives.
“Access to finance, certification and regulatory compliance, market entry and various tax incentives – especially on machinery import and acquisition – should be considered to make us more competitive in the market,” she said.
Thoughts on sector
Abigail is optimistic about the country’s processed food industry’s future, particularly when it comes to healthy, locally-produced products. The sector is growing, driven by increasing consumer demand for natural, additive-free foods.
However, she acknowledges that high production costs and reliance on manual processes make it difficult for local producers to compete with cheaper imports.
As such, she believes that with enhanced production systems and economies of scale, prices will come down, making local products more accessible to the average consumer.
Deliberate action
For entrepreneurs to succeed, Abigail emphasises a need for deliberate measures from both government and the Ghanaian public, saying: “The Ghanaian market should make a deliberate attempt to consume locally-made products”.
She also calls for improved access to financing, tax incentives on machinery and streamlined certification processes to help local businesses like FreshLine compete with multinational corporations.
Advice
Abigail’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is simple: “Stay true to your vision and don’t be afraid of failure. When it happens, get up and do it once again”.
She also stresses the importance of self-care, as entrepreneurship can be mentally and physically draining – adding that finding a strong support system is key to maintaining balance while navigating the challenges of running a business.
Contact details
FreshLine Post Harvest Solutions is located at Akomadan in the Ashanti Region. They can be reached on +233592885068 or +233208751716. On all social media platform, they are @freshlinephsltd, www.freshlinephs.com.
