Ten outstanding teams that emerged winners of the Kosmos Innovation Center (KIC) AgriTech Challenge Pro 2026 have received a total of US$100,000 in seed funding to support and expand their businesses within Ghana’s agricultural sector.
Prior to the final pitch session, the participating teams, some of which operate in agro-hardware and food innovation, benefited from coaching and technical support from experienced professionals and industry experts.
Mr Stanley Amamu, Programmes Manager of KIC, told the Ghana News Agency after the awards ceremony that agricultural transformation must be driven by innovation, entrepreneurship and the creation of opportunities for young people across the agricultural value chain.
He said KIC was contributing to youth employment by helping young people recognise opportunities in agriculture beyond primary farming activities.
“In our programmes, we provide entrepreneurship skills, business development support, technology and innovation support, and by this, we are exposing young people to see the opportunities in the agriculture sector so that they can establish and grow agribusinesses for themselves,” he emphasized.
Mr Amamu explained that the AgriTech Challenge Pro was one of KIC’s flagship programmes aimed at helping young innovators move beyond identifying challenges in agriculture to developing practical and innovative solutions to address them.
He noted that KIC’s support extended beyond pitching competitions, stressing that sustainable businesses required viable ideas capable of attracting customers, generating revenue, managing costs efficiently, and creating jobs.
Mr Amamu encouraged young people to continue taking advantage of opportunities within the agricultural innovation ecosystem, noting that KIC offered comprehensive support to help businesses succeed.
He also called on stakeholders to partner with the Centre to accelerate job creation and transformation in Ghana’s agricultural sector.
Mr Ibrahim Kwame Asante, Coordinator of the Technology Transfer and Commercialisation Directorate of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), expressed confidence that the winning businesses would make a significant impact due to the intensive coaching and technical guidance provided through the programme.
As a member of the ideation team, he observed that the growth of the participating businesses could create decent and meaningful employment opportunities, particularly for women, youth and persons with disabilities.
Ms Nimatu Alhassan, one of the seed fund recipients, said the funding would help scale up her business by strengthening its supply and distribution chain and increasing production capacity.
By Florence Afriyie Mensah, GNA
