Kosmos Innovation Centre (KIC) has challenged young entrepreneurs in Ghana to bring fresh thinking and innovation to the country’s agricultural sector.

The nonprofit gave the challenge during its 2021 Agritech Challenge Pro Competition.

The agritech challenge is an acceleration programme aimed at equipping existing startups with the right tools, funding, and support to bring their business ideas or products to market and prepare them to grow.

Data from the World Bank shows that Ghana’s agricultural sector, which accounts for one fifth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employs nearly half of its workforce and is the main source of livelihood for the majority of the country’s poorest households.

The West African country is a net importer of basic foods (raw and processed) including rice, poultry, sugar, and vegetable oils.

Ghana, it is understood, has significant agricultural potential, particularly in the semi-arid Northern Savannah (agro-)Ecological Zone (NSEZ), including the Afram Plains.

‘With the new Agritech Challenge Pro Competition, the KIC is expanding its offerings to more startups than ever before’, the Chairman of the KIC board of directors, Joe Mensah, said.

For the past five months, the startups, according to KIC, have been working on their business plans with KIC providing mentoring and technical assistance.

It was gathered that 25 startups pitched their business concepts to a distinguished panel of judges composed of Ghanaian business leaders and sector experts.

As part of the training, the 25 startups conducted extensive market research journeys throughout Ghana, and engaged industry stakeholders to collect data to inform their product development.

Photo source: CIFOR